LISA SNEDEKER
Associated Press Writer
LAS VEGAS (AP) -- The New York-New York hotel-casino usually draws in lots of high-rollers and tourists with its Big Apple-style skyscrapers, its replica Brooklyn Bridge and its Coney Island-type roller-coaster.
But after last week's terrorist attacks, its blackjack tables have emptied out and many slot machines have fallen silent. Big-screen televisions used in the sports book have been tuned to news channels. And the casino's 150-foot model of the Statue of Liberty has become a shrine crowded with candles, flowers and cards.
``We're cutting our trip short by three days,'' said guest Norma Isiordia of Los Angeles. ``It doesn't feel like the time to have fun right now.''
The scene is repeated along the Las Vegas Strip. Tourists and their gambling dollars are staying home in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks, whether out of fear, grief or the snarling of the nation's air travel system. Hundreds of Las Vegas conventions have been canceled. Quickie weddings are way down.
At New York-New York, there are reminders of the tragedy all over. The place is built to include some of the most memorable pieces of the New York skyline, with a Statue of Liberty and a 529-foot, 47-story replica of the Empire State Building. (The World Trade Center is not part of the skyline, which is supposed to represent the Big Apple of the 1940s.)
After the terrorist attacks, the hotel's shows were canceled, security was increased and piles of T-shirts, hats and coffee mugs bearing emblems of the New York fire and police departments filled kiosks and shops.
``It has humbled all of us that visitors to Las Vegas have created a memorial at New York-New York to honor the victims and offer support for the inspired efforts of the rescuers,'' Felix Rappaport, president of the hotel, said in a statement.
Around Las Vegas, more than 50,000 conventioneers have canceled or postponed events this week alone, a $61.3 million hit in non-gaming revenue, according to figures released Wednesday by the Las Vegas Visitors and Convention Authority.
So far more than 240 conventions planned for September, October and November have canceled. Last year the city drew 11 percent of its estimated 36 million visitors from conventions.
With a little more than half of the 75,000 rooms on the Strip empty over the weekend, hotels were forced to slash room rates this week. Normally, weekend visitors fill about 94 percent of the city's 126,083 hotel rooms.
``The trouble with having a one-industry town is that if that industry is in trouble, everything is in trouble,'' said Keith Schwer, director of UNLV's Center for Business and Economic Research.
Wilma Haley, a slot floor person who has worked at the Stardust hotel-casino for 30 years, said she could not recall a time when casinos were so deserted. ``The impact has been felt by the whole city,'' she said.
The self-proclaimed ``marriage capital of the world'' that averages more than 300 weddings a day saw license applications immediately drop about 40 percent last week.
``We're all shook up,'' said Cathy Carlson, a wedding planner who lost half her 10 daily bookings last week at the Elvis-themed Graceland Wedding Chapel. ``First it was people who couldn't get here. Now it's people who are afraid to fly.''
Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., said: ``You have to realize what an impact air transportation has. About 660 Americans million flew last year and 34 million came to Las Vegas.''
Taxi driver Shoji Suzuki, 58, usually averages three rides an hour. This week he is down to just one, cutting his daily take to $100.
``This has been horrible. This is the worst I have ever seen,'' Suzuki said. ``People are saying, `How are we going to pay our bills?' Everyone is going to be hurting.''
Hotel vacancies have already translated into hundreds of layoffs.
``We've seen this before in times of crisis, business drops off. The larger question is how long will last and how deep will it go?'' said Alan Feldman, spokesman for MGM Mirage, which is considering cutting hours for some of its 45,000 workers.
Reid, the senator, doubts there will be any long-term effects.
``It's like saying, `Will people continue to come to Paris?''' he said. ``People are going to continue to come to Paris. They are going to continue to come to Las Vegas. Las Vegas is the destination resort of the world, not just the U.S.''
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