Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Going all in: Silverton stages underwater poker game for special cause

Silverton water poker

Kailyn Brown / Las Vegas Sun

The Silverton hosted a poker game inside its aquarium on Friday, Nov. 6, 2015, to promote the nonprofit organization Dive Alliance, which supports veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

In gambling, getting soaked is slang for losing badly.

But at one poker table today at the Silverton, it meant something else entirely.

The Las Vegas resort held an underwater game at its massive aquarium to promote the nonprofit organization Dive Alliance, which supports veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. The Utah-based organization offers aquatic therapy that not only is relaxing for vets, but helps facilitate their healing, said Dive Alliance instructor Rendon McNeil.

Surrounded by hundreds of colorful fish, four players competed in the special event, betting with chips made of clay so they wouldn't float. A diver dressed as a mermaid dealt plastic cards.

After leaving his seat at the table and stepping to the dry side of the 117,000-gallon aquarium's glass, 36-year-old Patrick Murphy said his health had improved since he started scuba diving.

“I found that something about scuba diving (is) you can feel your anxiety and depression melt away as you go into the water,” he said. “I would not be able to talk to you if I did not go scuba diving. I would be too anxious. Right now, I feel calm and relaxed.”

Nearly three months ago, Murphy joined the program for vets suffering from PTSD like himself. He was deployed to Iraq in 2007 and 2008. The Utah native said he survived five enemy attacks and suffered a traumatic brain injury along with a few other minor wounds. Seven months ago, his condition worsened to the point where he was hospitalized.

“I was heavily medicated and I hated it,” he said. “I felt like a zombie and like I could not do anything.”

That changed when he got an opportunity to begin scuba diving at the hospital. He fell in love with the sport and is working toward becoming certified at the instructor level with several other specialties, such as underwater photography.

His wife, Jamie, said she was relieved Murphy found something he enjoyed that made him feel better.

“He used to wake me up every night with his nightmares,” she said. “This is the best he’s probably been. We’ve finally found something that’s working.”

Murphy said that scuba diving had not only helped him with his PTSD, but relieved his brain injury. He said one Dive Alliance member should be wheelchair-bound, but scuba diving restored his walking ability by relieving pressure from his spine.

Murphy said he hoped to expand the program to Idaho and Las Vegas soon.

“My goal is to bring awareness to our cause,” he said. “Hopefully this will get veterans interested, get them off their butts and get them moving.”

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