First official rides on four Wet ‘n’ Wild Las Vegas slides to be auctioned for Andre Agassi Foundation for Education and Opportunity Village

Published on Thu, May 16, 2013 (4 p.m.)

Submitted by Wet 'n' Wild Las Vegas, Andre Agassi Foundation for Education and Opportunity Village

LAS VEGAS, May 16, 2013 – Four lucky winners will be the first official riders to go down the slides at the new Wet ‘n’ Wild Las Vegas and help raise funds for local nonprofit organizations. Opening Memorial Day weekend, the new multimillion dollar water park is conducting eBay auctions for the inaugural rides on its Rattler, Constrictor, Hoover Half Pipe and Royal Flush Extreme slides – among its signature attractions. The Andre Agassi Foundation for Education will receive proceeds from the Rattle and Constrictor auctions, and Opportunity Village will benefit from the Hoover Half Pipe and Royal Flush Extreme.

The auctions began today and end at noon on Thursday, May 23. To bid or for details, click Rattler - http://ow.ly/l6EZ4, Constrictor - http://ow.ly/l6EVU, Hoover Half Pipe - http://ow.ly/l6F3f, and Royal Flush Extreme - http://ow.ly/l6ESe. Upon completion, participants will receive immediate notification about their winning bid and ride that will take place on Friday, May 24 during Wet ‘n’ Wild’s private grand opening party. The packages also include four tickets to the grand opening event with a cabana for the evening, souvenir gift bag and complimentary meal service.

Auction winners may transfer their May 24 ride to another. For details on rider height and weight information, visit the park’s website at www.wetnwildlasvegas.com.

“Auctioning the first official rides on the Rattler, Constrictor, Hoover Half Pipe and Royal Flush Extreme is a fun way to open Wet ‘n’ Wild Las Vegas, get people involved, and support two great local organizations that make a real difference in the community,” said Takuya Ohki, Wet ‘n’ Wild Las Vegas general manager. “We look forward to a long relationship with both the Andre Agassi Foundation for Education and Opportunity Village.”

The Andre Agassi Foundation for Education’s mission is to transform public education through the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy, a tuition free public charter school, and by influencing state and national policy. Agassi is an investor in Wet ‘n’ Wild Las Vegas.

Opportunity Village serves people in the Southern Nevada community with significant intellectual and related disabilities to improve their lives and the lives of their families.

“We chose the Rattler, Constrictor, Hoover Half Pipe and Royal Flush Extreme for the auction because they are expected to be among our most anticipated and popular slides, and will help raise the most money for the two charities,” said Ohki, adding he expects sell-out days during the first weeks after the park opens. “There’s so much excitement for Wet ‘n’ Wild to open, and we look forward to entertaining everyone throughout the season.”

Slide descriptions are:
• Rattler – This four-person ride is a first-of-its-kind slide in North America, taking riders through a series of twists and turns on their descent more than 360 feet to the splash down pool. Two distinct “rattles” shake them back and forth, delivering sensational oscillations and tons of wall time.
• Constrictor – This attraction has been voted a Top 5 water slide by the Travel Channel's 2012 Extreme Water Parks program. Riders will slip and slide their way into the belly of the snake on a multi-person raft, taking on the world’s tightest turns. They will speed down the enclosed flume into a series of corkscrew turns, snaking back and forth in spirals at speeds up to 18 miles per hour.
• Hoover Half Pipe – This category five river rapid experience has all the fun of whitewater rafting. There’s an unexpected 57-foot drop before the raft goes vertical, shooting up the Hoover wall and sending riders back down and experiencing sheer weightlessness before exiting into calm waters below.
• Royal Flush Extreme – Guests enter an enclosed tube before being dropped into a giant bowl, fighting centrifugal forces as they swirl around before being flushed down the center in a tube and into the splash down below.

Wet ‘n’ Wild Las Vegas is in the final stages of construction in preparation for its Memorial Day weekend opening. It is located at 7055 S. Fort Apache Rd., just west of the I-215 and W. Sunset Road exit.

The park opens for Wet ‘n’ Wild Gold Pass holders May 25 to 27, Season and Gold Pass holders May 28 to June 2, and all ticket holders beginning June 3. Pre-season discounts for the Season Pass and Gold Pass end June 2 with regular pass pricing beginning June 3.

Park managers are pleased with the overwhelming response to Wet ‘n’ Wild since it was announced and are expecting sell-out days during the initial weeks of operation.

For details about park operating hours and days, passes and tickets, group events, and many in-park services, such as cabana, locker and tube rentals, visit www.wetnwildlasgas.com.

About Wet ‘n’ Wild Las Vegas
The biggest name in water park fun returns to Southern Nevada with the grand opening of Wet ‘n’ Wild Las Vegas Memorial Day weekend. Positioned to be Nevada’s premier water park, it has more than 25 exhilarating slides and attractions ranging from extreme water slides, including the first-of-its-kind in North America three-person Rattler, to family friendly interactive play areas. The multimillion dollar park is ideally located in southwest Las Vegas near the I-215 and Sunset Road exit at 7055 S. Fort Apache Rd., Las Vegas, NV 89148 on a parcel of land leased from The Howard Hughes Corporation. Project investors include Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf, Dr. Steven and Karen Thomas of the Thomas and Mack family of Las Vegas, Roger and Scott Bulloch of SPB Partners and entertainment conglomerate Village Roadshow Limited which is the majority owner and oversees day-to-day operations of the Wet ’n’ Wild Las Vegas. For more information, visit www.wetnwildlasvegas.com.

About the Andre Agassi Foundation for Education
The Andre Agassi Foundation for Education seeks to transform public education in two ways. Through its signature project, the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy, the Foundation works to provide children in the historical West Las Vegas neighborhood with a first-class K-12 education to prepare them for excellence in college and beyond. Through state and national advocacy, the Foundation strives to increase investment in, and accountability for, public schools. To support the Andre Agassi Foundation for Education or to obtain additional information, visit www.agassifoundation.org.

About Opportunity Village
Opportunity Village is a not-for-profit organization that serves people within Southern Nevada with significant intellectual disabilities, to improve their lives and the lives of their families. Opportunity Village was founded in 1954 by seven families who were determined to give their disabled children the best lives possible. Nearly 60 years later, Opportunity Village is one of the most recognized and respected Community Rehabilitation Programs in the United States. Nevada’s largest employer of people with disabilities, Opportunity Village serves just over 3,000 individuals annually, providing vocational training, employment, habilitation and social recreation programs and services that make their lives more productive and interesting. Opportunity Village citizens – individuals who were previously considered unemployable – work at Opportunity Village’s Employment Resource Centers and in jobs throughout the community, collectively earning wages amounting to more than $7.6 million in 2012. They are hard-working and diligent, proudly paying taxes and happily leading more fulfilling lives. Primarily a self-funded organization, Opportunity Village generates the majority of its operational funding through its employment contracts and fundraising efforts such as the Magical Forest and Great Santa Run, saving Nevada taxpayers $33.7 million annually. For information, visit www.opportunityvillage.org.

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