Tuesday, July 30, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.
Wet 'n Wild is here to stay.
The company has been awash in stories that the popular Strip water park would close at the end of the 1996 season because of the nearby Sahara hotel-casino's expansion.
The raging reports are a "rumor out of control," according to the company's marketing department.
"It's absolutely untrue," said marketing director Dan Bradley. "We are not closing at the end of the year. We have a lease with Santa Fe Gaming until 2004."
To punctuate the park's commitment, the company announced plans for a new attraction -- the Royal Flush -- next year.
Bradley said the rumors apparently started when Bill Bennett acquired the Sahara from Santa Fe Gaming Corp. last year, and word had it that Bennett owned the water park as well and would turn it into a parking lot.
The sale, however, did not include Wet 'n Wild.
"Santa Fe owns the dirt and we own everything on top of it. All the equipment. All the rides," Bradley said.
"Kids in school are asking if it's going to close, groups are calling up to see if we're closing. We can't go anywhere without being hit with the question. I was asked about it in McDonald's. We've been hearing it so much that even the employees are asking. It's a battle trying to combat this rumor," Bradley said.
The company hopes the Royal Flush, a $1 million inner tube ride that shoots through a flume and rolls onto a roulette table, will dam the misinformation.
"It's early to announce it, but we thought that would be the best way to convince people that we are absolutely not going out of business. It's an exciting new ride that will be a lot of fun," Bradley said.
The park will close for the season in September and will open again in May.
Wet 'n Wild, established in Las Vegas in 1984, was the third water park opened by founder George Millay, who created Sea World in San Diego. The company plans to go international, investigating theme park possibilities in Mexico and Brazil.
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