VEGAS’ TOP COMPLIMENTARY ATTRACTION IS A GIANTIC, MERMAID-FILLED ADVENTURE
Vegas has just about
everything you never knew you wanted: a zipline that shoots out of a
slot machine, a Hooters-themed hotel — and a free-to-see 117,000-gallon
reef aquarium, complete with mermaids.
The Silverton Casino’s
aquarium is mesmerizing, with more than 4,000 tropical fish, stingrays
and even sharks — a perfect place to escape the bustle of the Strip.More
enthralling are the storied she-creatures-come-to-life: Up to seven
times a day, a mermaid joins the ocean life in a sequined tail and shell
bikini top, turning graceful flips and loop-de-loops.
Ariana
Liuzzi, 26, has been a Silverton mermaid since 2009. Asynchronized
swimmer from age eight for the Nevada Desert Mermaids, and
ocean-obsessed since forever, becoming a mermaid was destiny. “When I
was a child, I told people my first language was mermaid,” Liuzzi said
(it wasSlovak, but still).
The
tank contains tubes where the mermaids draw air, but Liuzzi can hold
her breath for over a minute. In the tank, she feels like she belongs.
“My favorite part is hanging out with sharks and rays,” she said.
“They’re friendly and playful.”
But
not all the fish are so welcoming. “Believe it or not, our biggest
problem is fish picking on the stingrays and sharks,” said Ryan
Ross,curator of the aquarium since 2005. Troublemaking fish get pulled out of the tank and putin a timeout until
they learn to behave. One troublemaking
pufferfish was nicknamed “Tyson” after
trying to take a bite out of a mermaid’s ear.
Ross and his team take care of everything
— from pump maintenance to fish
pampering. They also care for the massive
water feature in the Bass Pro Shops next
door, open pools with ducks, sturgeon and
turtles. The duck’s feathers are trimmed,
but “inevitably, their flight feathers grow
back faster than we anticipate,” Ross said.
“And we’re running through the casino
with a net saying, ‘Excuse me, ma’am, did
you see a duck just fly by?’”
For an ocean lover like Liuzzi— who also
works under Ross as an aquarist— there
could be no better gig. It’s the children’s
reactions at the family-friendly attraction
that really make the job worth it. “So many
kids think I’m real,” she said.
