Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2001 | 10:11 a.m.
Footage of the World Trade Center Towers being destroyed played out on giant television screens in Las Vegas casino sportsbooks Tuesday, but elsewhere along the Strip it was business as usual, as tourists found their way to slot machines and blackjack tables.
Famous Strip attractions, such as the Treasure Island pirate battle, the Mirage volcano and the dancing fountains at the Bellagio, were dark Tuesday night. The Las Vegas horizon was missing a familiar and comforting sight -- planes full of tourists.
But the casinos continued to operate. After the initial shock of the terrorist attack had passed, the familiar sounds of quarters clinking and the raucous shouting at craps tables returned.
As the news of the terrorist attack filtered into the Mirage early Tuesday, a somberness settled into the casino, MGM MIRAGE spokesman Alan Feldman said.
"Early in the day there were a lot of people in the sportsbook watching what was happening, and everything was very quiet," Feldman said.
At the Hard Rock Tuesday morning, small groups of tourists milled through a mostly empty casino, including Stacey Young and Kelly Bennedet, who were visiting from Canada. Bennedet said the mood in the casino was surreal, as people watched the news broadcast in bars and in the sportsbook.
"It was scary, and I don't think there was a single slot machine going when it first happened," Bennedet said.
Throughout the day the resorts on one of the world's most famous stretches of highway returned to some sense of normalcy. Lines of pedestrians walked the sidewalks trying to avoid the leaflets constantly thrust at them, the neon was as bright as ever and restaurants like Olives in the Bellagio were packed with patrons.
But there were small reminders of the tragedies occurring on the other side of the country. The Fashion Show mall, Forum Shops at Caesars, Eiffel Tower at Paris and the Stratosphere were all closed, and shows such as Siegfried and Roy, Danny Gans and "O," the Cirque du Soleil show, were canceled.
Several casinos displayed electronic pictures of flags at half-mast and the words "God Bless America" on their giant marquees.
Perhaps the biggest change at the casinos was in the sportsbooks, where the televisions were tuned to CNN and other news networks. With all major sporting events canceled, the sportsbooks became quiet areas where people sat down and watched the coverage.
Eric Bibb, 21, made use of the televisions at the Bellagio Tuesday night after learning that his sister, who lives about 20 miles from the Pentagon in Virginia, was OK.
"My sister works for a company that does business with the Pentagon, and she has to go there about once a week," Bibb said. "I was scared when we realized what was going on and we couldn't get a hold of her. It just seemed like the information was coming so slowly."
About 1 p.m. Bibb got a call from his sister saying she was OK, and he and his father headed to the Bellagio.
"My dad's a poker player, and he needed to do something to take his mind off what had happened, so we came down here," Bibb said. "He's playing poker, and I've been in the sportsbook watching the coverage."
Outside the Bellagio, groups of tourists began to line the sidewalk every 15 minutes for water shows that were canceled. A recorded announcement told tourists that the shows were canceled, but as soon as one group left more would gather.
Mike Whiting and JoAnne Silva of Reno stood outside the Bellagio waiting for the show about 8 p.m. When told the shows were canceled out of respect for the dead and wounded in New York and Washington D.C., both said the remembrance was appropriate.
Whiting and Silva had reservations for flights that were to leave Las Vegas at midnight, but the airport remained closed.
"We're not worried about it. I mean we can't do anything about it," Whiting said. "We'll find out (Wednesday) if the airport is open. There is no use worrying about it."
One normal part of the Las Vegas skyline was missing Tuesday. There was no line of jumbo jets flying above, filled with swarms of tourists, waiting to touch down. The planes were grounded and the sky was clear.
The Strip casinos opened their doors to the hundreds stranded in Las Vegas after airports nationwide, including McCarran International Airport, were shut down. Resorts helped find rooms and accommodations for visitors.
"For any of our guests who have been stranded, we've made accommodations available," Feldman said.
Metro Police Sheriff Jerry Keller said he was confident that stranded visitors would be taken care of.
"I don't know how many people are stranded here, but I do know that the casinos open their doors in times of crisis," Keller said. "Some people remember the MGM fire, and the other casinos opened up to help. The stranded people may not experience the finest hotels, but they aren't going to be sleeping in cots on the streets."
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