'We expect people to commit suicide,' said Sheilah Clay, agency director for a program that runs a hotline for gambling addicts. However, for those who have followed the casino industry and its tremendous growth, last Wednesday's events did not come as a surprise.

Billions of dollars have been poured into the casinos, including millions from the city to acquire land and infrastructure to house the gambling businesses, even as hospitals for the poor are closed because the city does not have a few million dollars. The MGM Grand Detroit Casino opened in April 1999 and the MotorCity Casino opened this past December. After losing $3,500 at the blackjack table, at $500 a hand, Bell pulled out his service revolver and shot himself in the head.īell's suicide came as a shock to many Detroiters, who have been told that the establishment of casinos would be a boom for the city, creating jobs and an economic revitalization.

Solomon Bell, 38, an off-duty police officer from suburban Detroit, lost between $15,000 and $20,000 in wagers that day, first at the MGM Grand Detroit Casino, and later at MotorCity Casino. Last Wednesday afternoon, January 26, a gambler committed suicide after losing thousands of dollars in the high-roller VIP section of the newly opened MotorCity Casino in Detroit.

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