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In late June 2001, ringleader Mohamed Atta checked into the Econo Lodge on Las Vegas Boulevard, hung the 'Do Not Disturb' sign on the door, and stayed in the room for two days. He also spent time at an internet cafe across from UNLV. The Aug. 13 meeting brought together Atta, Nawaf al-Hazmi and Hani Hanjour. Investigators believe it was the final planning. Four weeks later, they boarded the planes. The earlier trips are a mystery. The 9/11 Commission said it found no credible evidence for why they came. Former Clark County Sheriff Bill Young speculated the visits could have been planning sessions, a last party before their suicide mission, or both. After September 11, the fallout reached this city too. With planes grounded, tourism fell off a cliff. As many as 15,000 casino workers lost their jobs in two weeks. Several Strip resorts shelved expansion plans, and by mid-2002 the Strip still had about 6,000 fewer resort jobs. Most of the places the hijackers stayed are gone now. The Econo Lodge is closed. The Travelodge on West Sahara where Marwan al-Shehhi stayed is now The Lexi.

All four 9/11 pilots spent time in Las Vegas the summer before the attacks. The hijackers made six trips here, stayed in cheap motels, and met one last time on August 13, 2001. 25 years later, nobody knows for sure why they chose Vegas. We remember the nearly 3,000 killed.