There’s a reason people say that what happens in Las Vegas, stays in Las Vegas.
Simply put, it’s a city where a lot of amazing, terrible, and strange things can happen. One day, you might find yourself winning several million dollars at a slot machine. Next, you could lose it all at the roulette tables.
Given just how many secrets a city like Las Vegas has, it’s no surprise that rumors tend to swirl about the city’s resorts. Now, there’s a wild rumor swimming through the city—and it’s about an alleged shark in a Las Vegas resort’s pool.
What Happened To The Sharks At Golden Nugget?
In a video with over 2.8 million views, TikTok user Jay Klay (@jay_klay) says he excitedly visited the shark reef at the Golden Nugget Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, in hopes of seeing sharks. But, when he got there, there were no sharks to be found.
“So I go up to one of the security guards, and I’m like, ‘Hey, where’d the sharks go?’” Klay recalls. “And he goes, ‘You see that? You see that white line in the middle of the shark tank?’”
Klay then noticed the line in the shark tank.
“Apparently, the shark tank cracked in half, and the sharks flew into the pool,” he states. “So now they had to move all the sharks to Mandalay Bay until they repair the tank here at the Golden Nugget.”
Even though the employee allegedly told Klay “Don’t tell anyone,” the story was just too wild not to share.
“Could you imagine if you were in the pool and all of a sudden, a shark just—boop!—flew out of the container and went right in the pool?” Klay asks.
In an email to BroBible, Klay says he was “unaware that the sharks were missing until I got there.”
“I went up to a security guard stationed in front of the tank who was accompanied by a shorter female manager. I asked them directly what happened, and they explained it as I explained in the video,” he shared. “I was truly shocked and had no reason not to believe two employees. Obviously, my excitement grabbed me, and I made the video as I was leaving.”
Despite the response from the hotel, Klay says he knows what he heard.
“Now I’m being told the hotel has their statement, yet people that work there are still telling me that it’s true,” he wrote. “Anyone who’s worked in management in Vegas knows it’s very common for hotels to cover up things so it doesn’t affect tourism to their hotel. I know this firsthand. So technically, I don’t know… But if the hotel says that it didn’t happen, I’ll respect [their] statement.”
“Based on everything, I know now I respect the casino’s words, and if they say that that’s not what happened, then that’s what we need to honor,” he noted. “I do believe something happened because I saw the crack with my eyes. The tank did crack, causing the immediate evacuation of all the aquatic animals to Mandalay Bay, as I was told. Whether or not the story I was told was fabricated or exaggerated… Only the two employees who told me the story will know that.”
Golden Nugget, he added, has not reached out to him since posting his video.
“I would’ve loved it if the Golden Nugget would’ve reached out to me. I love the Golden Nugget, and I’ve been going since I was a teenager with my mom over 30 years,” he explained. “I have no disrespect or hate for the property, and I love visiting the sharks, clearly, because that’s what I was going for. To be honest, I have an amazing idea for a national commercial that I would love to pitch them that has to do with the empty sharks and my viral video.”
Did This Really Happen?
If one visits Golden Nugget, they will not find sharks in their shark tank.
It’s true that The Tank, the shark aquarium at Golden Nugget, is closed. It’s also true that the animals within were removed due to a structural issue with the tank. But did sharks really fly out of a crack in the tank into the pool?
The answer, it seems, is no. The employee was likely just messing with Klay.
In reality, Cindy O’Keefe, senior VP and assistant general manager of Golden Nugget, told Casinos.com that the missing sharks were due to structural issues discovered with the tank.
“A routine inspection identified a slight gap in the structural seams, not a crack,” O’Keefe explained. “The marine biology team was immediately on-site to ensure the safety of all animals. The remaining animals safely remain in the partially drained tank. Repairs to the seam are currently underway.”
Apart from Klay, there are no reports of sharks leaving the tank and entering the pool. Other Vegas sources have specifically mocked the claim as well.
He Sticks To His Story
Either unaware he was tricked or just continuing the bit, Klay insisted that his version of events was correct, despite all evidence to the contrary. He posted an update video claiming that he was told “some” of the creatures got out and that he assumed the part about sharks. In another follow-up, he stated that he was simply recounting what an employee told him.
While he claims no one was in the pool at the time, the gap shown in the video is too small for a shark or most other animals to pass through. Although it’s technically possible some animals made their way into the pool, there’s no real reason to deny the casino’s claims—and definitely no reason to believe the “shark in the pool” story.
Commenters under the video were incredulous.
“Hi I’m a server at the golden nugget pool, this is false! That’s literally impossible 🙂 but the sharks are at mandalay for the rest of the season,” wrote a user.
That said, others said that stories like this amplified some of their pre-existing fears.
“See I knew one of my biggest ‘irrational’ fears won’t that irrational!” joked a commenter.
@jay_klay Only in Vegas can a Shark Tank crack in half and the sharks start swimming in the public pool. #vegas #sharkweek #sharkattack
BroBible reached out to Golden Nugget via email.