What Happens In Vegas Stays In Vegas, Especially When You Kill Yourself There

We’ve always been under the assumption that Las Vegas was the happiest place on Earth (pictured here is contributing editor John DeSio, having his own happy time with an 18-inch high piña colada and Hawaiian shirt outside of the Paris during his honeymoon last year). The glitz, the glamour, the cheap shrimp: who knew there was a downside?
Well, there is, particularly when it comes to offing yourself. A new study from the good people at Harvard University finds that the suicide risk for residents of Sin City is higher than that of residents elsewhere, people who visit Vegas are twice as likely to commit suicide than tourists in other cities, and that the suicide risk for visitors is considerably higher than that of Vegas residents.
In fact, if you live in Vegas and travel away from home your suicide risk actually decreases. We’re pretty bummed out about all this. Pass the complimentary cocktail, please.

According to [study author and Temple University Sociology Professor Matt] Wray, there a couple of scenarios that may explain the reasons for this geographical suicide cluster, but these need further research. “One would be ‘gambler’s despair’—someone visits Las Vegas, bets his house away and decides to end it all. Another would be that those predisposed to suicide disproportionately choose Las Vegas to reside in or visit. And, finally, there may be a ‘contagion’ effect where people are emulating the suicides of others, with Las Vegas acting as a suicide magnet, much like the Golden Gate bridge. Some people may be going there intent on self-destruction.”

What about Las Vegas as a place may be contributing to these higher rates of suicide? Problem gambling is just one piece of the puzzle, explained Wray. “Las Vegas is also one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in the U.S., a pattern of growth that may amplify social isolation, fragmentation and low social cohesion, all of which have long been identified as correlates of suicide,” he said.

The study also found that suicide risk in Las Vegas has declined over the 30 year period in the study, while the risks in the rest of the country have begun to climb slightly. Additionally, the data showed that for residents, the protective benefit of leaving Las Vegas, while still significant, has begun to decline.

Have you ever seen anything more depressing than the words “suicide magnet” associated with Las Vegas? We’ve all been upset after we lost our last nickel at the craps table at some off-strip dive casino, but that’s no reason to take a dive off a building. We’ve always embraced our casino losses as an opportunity to meet new people when we grub for change from tourists in front of a classier gambling haunt. No loss is ever so big in Las Vegas that we’d try to take our own life. We prefer to degrade ourselves in a more temporary manner.
What Happens in Vegas? Place as a Risk Factor for Suicide [Newswise]