Circumstances Surrounding Tank Explosion at Gulfstream Park Casino Remain Fishy
The Sunday morning explosion of a 13,000-gallon saltwater aquarium at the popular South Florida Gulfstream Park casino remained a mystery Tuesday.
Tim Ritvo, president and general manager of the Gulfstream casino, said that the casino will remain closed for much of the week as crew members mop up the flood of water and debris left behind on both floors of the establishment. All fish, including two sharks, and other aquatic life were saved immediately following the disaster. The incident was deemed so serious that a Hazmat team was brought in to determine if there were any chemical hazards present.
“We are currently assessing the damage and working on reopening the casinos,” said Mike Couch, Gulfstream's director of gaming.
Gulfstream casino employee Lucile Sfalanga told the Sentinel she remembers around 100 guests milling about the second floor near the 13-foot-high fish tank on the night of the deluge.
“All we heard was a big bang and all the water started shooting out the top of the tank,” casino employee Lucile Sfalanga told the Sun Sentinel. ‘It sounded like a cannon.”
The incident occurred at the height of the Labor Day Weekend. Normally, Gulfstream rakes in about $125,000 a day on weekends from its slots and another $15,000 per weekend day on poker.
Damage is estimated to be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Engineers this week will attempt to determine what caused the crack in the tank. It was not immediately clear as to whether the aquarium will be replaced.
- Aaron Goldstein, Gambling911.com
