‘Be careful’: Guests return to Trump hotel following Las Vegas explosion

When a Tesla Cybertruck was driven up to the valet outside Trump International Hotel on Thursday morning, a man could be heard ushering children away from the vehicle.

“Be careful,” the man said.

Little more than 24 hours earlier, a Tesla Cybertruck driven by 37-year-old Matthew Livelsberger, an active-duty U.S. Army Service Member from Colorado Springs, Colorado, blew up in the same valet area, injuring seven bystanders. Liverlsberger had fatally shot himself in the head just before the truck exploded.

Metropolitan Police Department Sheriff Kevin McMahill said in a briefing Wednesday that the hotel was evacuated, and many guests went to Resorts World.

On Thursday morning, guests swarmed the lobby of the Trump International Hotel. A police car was parked near the valet area.

Other than a worker seen cleaning the glass doors to the lobby, and a man seen repairing missing sprinklers surrounded by black marks on the ceiling above the valet stand, there were few signs of Wednesday’s explosion.

The lobby restaurant and cafe was open for business, as were the hotel’s check-in desks and valet service.

Dallas Aimer, who was visiting Las Vegas for the holiday from Orange County, California, was in his hotel room when he said he heard a loud bang Wednesday morning.

“I almost thought it was a sonic boom from the local air force base,” Aimer said. But in the aftermath of the explosion, Aimer said he and his family were not evacuated.

When they ventured into the hallway from their room, Aimer said he saw smoke and the elevators were switched off.

“There was no communication with the hotel whatsoever,” Aimer said. His family packed up their belongings because they were meant to leave Las Vegas on Wednesday anyways and headed down to the lobby down the stairs from the 56th floor.

“People weren’t evacuated, we were just told after we were down that we couldn’t go back up,” Aimer said.

Aimer and his wife both took an extra day off of work because their car was stuck at the hotel valet, he said.

“We didn’t know when we could leave,” he added. “We didn’t know when we could come back.”

Hotel guests Dan Worley and his wife Lisa Worley said they were confused to hear reports of an evacuation on the news from their hotel room on the 22nd floor at Trump International Hotel. Dan Worley said there was no mandatory evacuation.

Janet Kwon was not present at the hotel for the explosion, but she said tried to check in to her room later on Wednesday afternoon.

“Everything was blocked off,” Kwon said. She dropped her husband off near the Fashion Show Mall and she said it took him two hours to get to the hotel, which is less than half a mile away. “Eventually we just figured out we had to find other accommodations,” she said.

“The rooms were hard to get anywhere, because everybody was trying to find a room,” Kwon said. She and her husband booked two nights at the Sahara, but she said they received no initial help from Trump International Hotel.

“We got no email, no text,” she said. “Things happen, but just let us know what’s going on, and then what do you want us to do?”

The couple was able to check in to Trump International Hotel on Thursday morning, and Kwon said the hotel reimbursed them for their nights at the Sahara.

“It seems like there’s minimal damage as we’re standing here at the valet area,” Kwon said. “We’re just glad no one else was hurt.”

If you’re thinking about suicide, or are worried about a friend or loved one, help is available 24/7 by calling or texting the Lifeline network at 988. Live chat is available at 988lifeline.org. Additionally, the Crisis Text Line is a free, national service available 24/7. Text HOME to 741741.

Contact Estelle Atkinson at eatkinson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @estelleatkinson.bsky.social on Bluesky and @estellelilym on X.