Mysterious crack in 13,000-gallon fish tank causes Deluge in casino... -
A little crack can cause a mighty mess — and a heap of disappointment.
"The casino's closed today," Lucille Sfalanga told customer after customer Monday outside the Gulfstream Racing and Casino Park.
A mysterious chink in the casino's floor-to-ceiling fish tank caused a deluge around 12:15 a.m. Sunday, forcing the two-story casino to close even while the village's shops, restaurants and racetrack remained open.
On Monday, dehumidifiers and fans were at full blast, removing moisture from soggy carpets on both floors. Engineers were still trying to figure out what caused the leak, said Mike Couch, director of gaming at Gulfstream.
Sfalanga was working in the casino the night the 13,000-gallon saltwater tank cracked.
She remembers around 100 people hanging out on the second floor, drinking or gambling near the 13-foot-high aquarium, the centerpiece of the room.
"All we heard was a big bang and all the water started shooting out the top of the tank," she said from her perch outside the casino. "It sounded like a cannon."
Within two minutes, all but two feet of water had streamed from the tank, Couch said.
The aquarium was home to more than 100 fish, including two small nurse sharks, angelfish, grouper and lionfish.
Soon after the tank flooded the room, casino managers called in the crew that maintains the aquarium to help rescue the fish.
Workers lowered a ladder into the tank, then climbed down and carried the fish to safety.
"The good news is, all the fish survived," Couch said.
The bad news: Customers couldn't spend their Labor Day holiday playing the slots.
The casino makes about $125,000 a day on weekends from its slots and another $15,000 per weekend day on poker, according to the Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering.
Still, Gulfstream Park's revenues are the lowest among the six parimutuels in Broward and Miami-Dade counties with slot machines.
Like most casinos, Gulfstream had Labor Day promotions planned, with scratch-off cards for cash and a "Labor Day Pay Day" giveaway of more cash and free play.
Now, some of the slot machines may need to be replaced, along with the carpeting, TVs, ATMs and redemption machines, Couch said.
"The water worked its way downstairs and essentially rained on the equipment," he said.
Couch estimated the damage may be in the hundreds of thousands, not including lost revenue.
Breathtaking as it is, the aquarium may not be coming back, he said.
"We're not sure of the outcome for the tank," he said. "We need to find out why it cracked open."
Read more -
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/fl-fish-tank-gulfstream-20120903,0,7892034.story
A little crack can cause a mighty mess — and a heap of disappointment.
"The casino's closed today," Lucille Sfalanga told customer after customer Monday outside the Gulfstream Racing and Casino Park.
A mysterious chink in the casino's floor-to-ceiling fish tank caused a deluge around 12:15 a.m. Sunday, forcing the two-story casino to close even while the village's shops, restaurants and racetrack remained open.
On Monday, dehumidifiers and fans were at full blast, removing moisture from soggy carpets on both floors. Engineers were still trying to figure out what caused the leak, said Mike Couch, director of gaming at Gulfstream.
Sfalanga was working in the casino the night the 13,000-gallon saltwater tank cracked.
She remembers around 100 people hanging out on the second floor, drinking or gambling near the 13-foot-high aquarium, the centerpiece of the room.
"All we heard was a big bang and all the water started shooting out the top of the tank," she said from her perch outside the casino. "It sounded like a cannon."
Within two minutes, all but two feet of water had streamed from the tank, Couch said.
The aquarium was home to more than 100 fish, including two small nurse sharks, angelfish, grouper and lionfish.
Soon after the tank flooded the room, casino managers called in the crew that maintains the aquarium to help rescue the fish.
Workers lowered a ladder into the tank, then climbed down and carried the fish to safety.
"The good news is, all the fish survived," Couch said.
The bad news: Customers couldn't spend their Labor Day holiday playing the slots.
The casino makes about $125,000 a day on weekends from its slots and another $15,000 per weekend day on poker, according to the Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering.
Still, Gulfstream Park's revenues are the lowest among the six parimutuels in Broward and Miami-Dade counties with slot machines.
Like most casinos, Gulfstream had Labor Day promotions planned, with scratch-off cards for cash and a "Labor Day Pay Day" giveaway of more cash and free play.
Now, some of the slot machines may need to be replaced, along with the carpeting, TVs, ATMs and redemption machines, Couch said.
"The water worked its way downstairs and essentially rained on the equipment," he said.
Couch estimated the damage may be in the hundreds of thousands, not including lost revenue.
Breathtaking as it is, the aquarium may not be coming back, he said.
"We're not sure of the outcome for the tank," he said. "We need to find out why it cracked open."
Read more -
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/fl-fish-tank-gulfstream-20120903,0,7892034.story
No comments:
Post a Comment