How sad

[pokeherguy]

We had been working at a small town outside of Tunica and on the way in I let a buddy talk me into stopping at the Grand for a few minutes. Upon pulling in the parking lot we saw a lot of commotion in the next lot. There were several police cars and alot of other security vehicles so we just parked and walked over to talk with one of the employees that was parked in a van. After asking what was going on we were told it appeared to be another suicide. Did'nt hit me at first when he said another suicide so I said it had been a while since that had happened which got a real funny look from the guy. Turns out its not that uncommon and last week they had a guy hang himself at the hotel. Anyway after seeing this we just decided to leave. On the way home we got to talking about how many deaths we probably did'nt even hear about on the casino properties and how many other suicides relating to gambling problems actually occur. Everyone that goes to the casinos in Tunica knows about the vehicle theft problem (especially my father-in-law) but the deaths kinda go unnoticed. Anyway just sad that things have gone so bad that people feel this is the only answer.

[macaroo]

 Gambling like any other Endorfin producing activity in life can be very adictive.
  Years ago I remember driving down River Road in Ontario Canada.  I noticed a lot of police activity in front of the original Niagara Falls Casino.  I stopped and asked what was happening.  Somebody said an individual who had just lost big time in the Casino had run out the front door, jump the fence and plunged into the Niagara Gorge.  Never did hear anything further about it.  Considering it is about an 800' drop, I doubt her survived the fall. 
 It made a lasting impression on me!

[rascal]

It's a combination of factors. Someone who is more likely to operate on "hope" as a financial security theme probably is much more susceptible to huge emotional upswings and downswings in the first place. Secondly, addicted gamblers are bad about going without stopping for hours and hours on end --- 14-16 hours in a casino non-stop is not so rare. Finally, alcohol is also sometimes a factor.
 
So if you take an emotional basket case, wipe him out financially, wipe him out physically, and place him in a deserted parking lot in the wee hours of the morning preparing for a devastating, depressing trip back home (especially if he has bills/obligations immediately due and/or urgent family responsibilities sidetracked by the losses), then I would think he would be a prime candidate for thoughts about ending it all, and even more so if his inhibitations have been affected by alcohol. And in certain gaming venues such as Tunica, a gambler might be more likely to have a loaded firearm in his car.
 
Is all of this the casino's fault? Is it society's fault?
 
In my opinion, it is a matter of personal responsibility, which some people have difficulty handling. If you cannot afford to gamble from both a financial and emotional point of view, then don't.

[cddenver]

Yes, it's sad...the uglier side.
 
A few years ago I walked into one of the local casinos, and saw paramedics attending to a little old lady who had a heart attack while playing her favorite slot machine (I heard later she died).  Sad enough, but I was disgusted when I saw people pushing and shoving each other to get at her machine, while she was laying there on the floor.  A casino employee had to turn off the machine to get the crowd away.  THAT's sad!