A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed against Excalibur Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas following the drowning of Paul Nakashima, a 60-year-old Canadian visitor, in June 2023.

Nakashima, from Burnaby, British Columbia, was celebrating his birthday when he reportedly slipped and hit his head in a shallow section of the casino's Court Pool. The lawsuit alleges the on-duty lifeguard failed to monitor Nakashima after his fall. Other guests discovered him underwater around 4:20 pm and alerted the lifeguard, who then attempted a rescue.

Despite immediate CPR efforts by a guest and emergency response, Nakashima was pronounced dead at Spring Valley Hospital Medical Center. Medical staff indicated he had been oxygen-deprived for approximately 45 minutes.

The estate and Nakashima's sisters are seeking $15,000 in damages, claiming New Castle, LLC (Excalibur) failed to:

• Provide adequate pool safety measures
• Properly train lifeguards per Southern Nevada Health District regulations
• Respond appropriately to the emergency

According to the National Drowning Prevention Alliance, drowning:

• Claims over 4,500 lives annually in the U.S.
• Can occur within 20-60 seconds
• Is among the top four causes of unintentional death

Nevada's drowning death rate of 1.45 per 100,000 people exceeds the national average of 1.31. Adult pool drownings typically result from slip-and-fall incidents, medical emergencies, or substance impairment.

Nakashima worked as a security officer at the Vancouver Convention Center and was known for his love of poker and travel, particularly to Hawaii and Mexico.

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