This week held a lot of excitement for the Gulfstream Park Racing and Casino as poker players gathered around tables at the recently reopened poker room. The second floor casino was also reopened after an aquarium holding 13,000 gallons of water and exotic fish burst, causing the casino, poker room and slot machines to get soaked.

The aquarium flood affected nearly 30,000 square feet in the casino, which forced a lengthy shutdown. Cleaning crews spent hours on the second floor replacing carpets, scrubbing walls and other surfaces, and cleaning machines. Luckily, all of their hard work paid off when both the poker tables and casino were opened back up.

This was definitely to the liking of Michael Ramirez – a horse owner who enjoys watching the races in the casino daily. He said the flooded casino was a small inconvenience to his racing and breeding business, and Sunday was the first time he could see races on the first floor again. Ramirez stated, “I always want this place to succeed. I’m glad it’s getting back on track.”

The casino took additional preparations and added an extra table for the larger crowd; however, numbers slowly depleted as the day carried out. The casino employees, such as Harold Anderson, are predicting the poker room will gain more visitors once the slot floors are reopened.

Mike Couch, who manages Gulfstream Park, talked about the reopening by saying, “Most people are just curious to know if the fish made it,” Luckily, Couch had good news to tell the poker players and casino visitors since all of the fish survived by staying in 3,000 gallons of remaining water. Some of the fish include sharks, lionfish and pufferfish, just to name a few.

The verdict is still out as to whether or not the casino will keep the fish tank. Based on this latest incident, we’re doubtful that they elect to keep it around.