Months before the Sept. 11 attacks, several of the hijackers passed through Las Vegas, staying in seedy motels and spending hours at a local internet cafe.
Twenty-five years later, little remains of the Las Vegas they encountered. The motels and other properties they visited have been renamed, redeveloped or otherwise transformed — some in the midst of legal battles and others, stalled development plans.
Here is a look at what stands in the place of the Las Vegas locations detailed in FBI reports tracing the terrorists’ phone, credit card and internet activity.
Travelodge, now the Lexi
Marwan al-Shehhi arrived in Las Vegas on May 24, 2001, and checked into Room 213 at the Travelodge, 1501 W. Sahara Ave.
The property still stands near Sahara Avenue and Interstate 15, though it now operates as the Lexi, a boutique hotel. Spokespeople for the Lexi did not respond to interview requests from the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Al-Shehhi checked out the following day and moved to St. Louis Manor Apartments at 2000 Paradise Road.
St. Louis Manor, now Siegel Suites
Al-Shehhi stayed at St. Louis Manor Apartments in room 3107 from May 25 to May 27, 2001. The former motel is now Siegel Suites Paradise.
He prepaid for the room and did not have to check out in person when he left and flew to San Francisco. Hours later, continued to New York.
According to an FBI intelligence report prepared in the aftermath of the attacks, the hijackers and their associates avoided the Strip’s elaborate casino resorts, instead staying briefly at inexpensive motels on its less glamorous end, where surveillance cameras were unlikely.
The Maxim, now the Westin
On June 7, 2001, Ziad Jarrah rented a car at McCarran International Airport while accompanied by an unidentified man described by witnesses as being of apparent Middle Eastern descent.
Investigators could not reconstruct the car’s travel because Jarrah’s rental contract allowed unlimited mileage. They initially had trouble determining where he stayed, but phone records later led investigators to the Maxim hotel-casino on Flamingo Road.
The hotel closed months after Jarrah’s stay. Its former site is now the Westin Las Vegas Hotel & Spa.
CyberZone and Campus Village
Mohamed Atta arrived at McCarran on June 28, 2001, rented a car and went to CyberZone, an internet café at 4440 S. Maryland Parkway.
He used a computer for just over an hour and ended the session at about 11 p.m.
Atta returned to CyberZone on June 29 and used a computer for about 90 minutes. He accessed the account again on June 30 and used it once more after returning to Las Vegas on Aug. 13.
The account, registered under the username “Mohamad,” was charged for nearly nine hours of computer time in all.
Former Las Vegas FBI agents involved in the investigation later said they believed Atta used the café to search travel websites for available seats on flights back East.
A former Sept. 11 investigator said Atta may have used the café to communicate with Ramzi Binalshibh, an al-Qaida operative authorities described as a key coordinator of the plot.
CyberZone was in Campus Village, a retail complex across from UNLV that has since been demolished. Built in 1978, the property became plagued by flooding, vandalism and vagrancy, including drug use and dealing.
The Review-Journal previously reported that G2 Capital Development, planned for a a mixed-use redevelopment in its place. In 2019, G2’s founder, Frank Marretti, described taking over the property as “a nightmare.” He said construction could begin that year or the next and take about two years.
As of mid-August, a wire fence surrounded the vacant lot. Gianna Marretti of G2 said Woodbury Corporation, a Utah-based developer, is now responsible for the property.
Marretti did not reply to inquiries about the ownership change. Woodbury Corp did not respond to an interview request.
Econo Lodge, now On The Boulevard Suites
Atta checked into the Econo Lodge at 1150 Las Vegas Boulevard on June 29, 2001, before returning to CyberZone that afternoon or evening. He checked out July 1 and flew to Denver, Colorado on United Airlines.
He returned to Las Vegas on Aug. 13, checked into the Econo Lodge again and went back to CyberZone. The next morning, he checked out before 11 a.m. and flew to Fort Lauderdale, where authorities believed he may have met with al-Shehhi.
The former Econo Lodge at 1150 Las Vegas Boulevard now operates as On The Boulevard Suites, an extended stay apartment community.
The property was previously known as Hebron and managed by the nonprofit Caridad Inc., which provided affordable housing for low- and fixed-income tenants.
Caridad was evicted from the property in February.
Merideth Spriggs, who founded Caridad, declined an interview about the property, saying ongoing litigation surrounded the eviction.
She told the Review-Journal in March that they were ousted despite offering to pay most of what was owed, an assertion disputed by property owner YSBM Investments, LLC.
On the Boulevard did not respond to interview requests.
‘Trips tied to planning attacks’
Investigators never definitively determined why the hijackers traveled to Las Vegas, but they believed the trips were likely tied to planning and coordinating the Sept. 11 attacks.
Their stays — sometimes overlapping with one another — led investigators believe that Las Vegas may have been a meeting spot for the men to exchange information while attracting little attention.
Investigators also considered whether the hijackers were scouting potential targets in Southern Nevada, including Hoover Dam, but found no evidence establishing that as the purpose of the trips.
Investigators also rejected other theories that the hijackers looked to launder money at casinos or partake in the bountiful sins of Las Vegas.
Casino surveillance tapes revealed no signs of the hijackers, and reports that some of them were spotted at strip clubs were never confirmed.
Contact Akiya Dillon at adillon@reviewjournal.com.
