In 2011, a Brooklyn, N.Y., native moved to the desert to take care of ocean animals. Doesn’t make too much sense, right? Well, if you’ve been to Golden Nugget downtown, you’ll discover it does. Alissa Cardone is the life sciences curator for the 75,000-gallon aquarium inside Chart House—one of the property’s restaurants—and the 200,000-gallon Shark Tank inside the famed pool complex.
“That’s what my parents asked when I told them I’m moving to Vegas,” she says. “They said, ‘You’re moving to the middle of the desert to take care of fish?’ And that’s actually what makes this so unique; people can come and see over 60 different species of animals in one spot. We have never closed our tank to be geographically from one area, so all of our animals in the tanks are from all over the world.”
And it’s Cardone’s responsibility to care for each and every one. She’s had a lifelong passion for marine animals, even volunteering when she was a young teen at the New York Aquarium.She eventually worked there for six years as a wild animal keeper. She moved to Vegas to join the team at Golden Nugget, starting as a biologist, and now she runs the whole program and department. “Now, I am responsible for overseeing all of the care of all of the animals, the exhibits, staff and life support, which is the filtrations and plumbing and electrical work that help run these aquariums,” she says.
Cardone has also clocked more than 4,000 dives—her job requires her to get into both the aquarium and the shark tank every day.
“The reward is working with such a diverse collection of animals,” she says. “Interestingly enough, in our facility we have animals that easily have lived double their life that they would in the wild. Our sharks only make it until 10 in the wild—I have 20-year-old sharks in that tank. A lot of that comes with our being devoted to animal welfare.”
Libation: Chocolate & Bourbon
Stop by Chart House for a cocktail and some awesome views of the aquarium. The Chocolate & Bourbon cocktail mixes together Four Roses small batch bourbon, Carpano Antica sweet vermouth, Tiramisu Italian liqueur and Fee Brothers Aztec chocolate bitters. This week, Golden Nugget celebrates Shark Days. The annual event offers educational and fun promotions, giveaways, shark-themed sweets and a way to celebrate and educate the public about sharks, both at the property and in the oceans.
Benefit
The Chart House happy hour (4-6 p.m. Thurs.-Mon.) offers $5 to $9 dishes and $6 to $8 wines and cocktails.
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