“So many kids think I’m real,” Liuzzi said. Near the tank’s upper deck hang children’s drawings with brightly crayoned colors and scrawled sketches of the mermaids. The woman once brought her costumed cat to a meet-and-greet session so her pet could be photographed with the mermaids.īut her favorite guests are the children. She brings it in a carriage and puts sunglasses on it,” Liuzzi said.

“There’s a lady that dresses her cat up to see us. Hostile creatures wind up in the quarantine tanks for a “time out.” But, she said, “There’s one particular fish that has been hostile recently, and not just biting but attacking people.”

They’re lowered into the tank by a swing lined with scrunched-up pink fabric.ĭespite the incident with the ray, aggressive creatures are rare. The mermaids each spend about 15 minutes underwater along with a safety diver. Instead, the performers breathe from “hookah ports” throughout the artificial reef, taking in just enough air to accomplish a few stunts before returning for more. Liuzzi soon discovered the world of the fish tank, where the water temperature is kept at 77 degrees - a happy medium for the varied creatures that hail from most of the seven seas but call the mammoth tank home.Īlthough all Silverton mermaids are certified divers, their special uniforms - seashell bikini tops and tails - are not fashioned with typical scuba tanks. The coach was also the casino’s “head mermaid.” In 2009, her swim coach encouraged her to audition for the Silverton job. Her family moved to Las Vegas when Liuzzi was a teenager, but despite the desert climes, she found a way to stay in the water at local pools. Growing up near the ocean in Long Beach, Liuzzi says, she was a “water baby.” At age 8, she took to the pool and began synchronized swimming, competing in the sport until she turned 17. She had to be pulled out of the tank and couldn’t finish the show, but she has recovered. “It felt like I was just punched, because they swim with a lot of force when they feel they need to get away from a situation,” Liuzzi said.

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