Reprinted from the Herald News Online in Joliet, Illinois.
Patron commits suicide outside of Empress casino
JOLIET — A 23-year-old Morrison man, apparently despondent over the loss of a large amount of cash, committed suicide on the steps of the Argosy Empress Casino Sunday morning.
Andre G. Potvin, 23, was pronounced dead around 6 a.m. Sunday. Officials from the Will County coroner's office said Potvin died of a self-inflicted gun shot through the mouth.
Police said Potvin left the casino briefly to go to his vehicle to retrieve his gun before returning to the entrance at 2300 Empress Drive. The entire incident was taped by security cameras.
Another Empress patron, Anthony Alyinovich of Chicago, told The Herald News that he had played blackjack with Potvin earlier in the morning. He remembered the man because he had a gash on his head.
"He dressed as if he was either in law enforcement or the military," Alyinovich said. "He was wearing Army boots and had a crew cut. He said he was desperate and had lost $1,000."
Alyinovich happened to be leaving the casino with a friend when they passed by Potvin sitting on the stairs to the entryway.
Seconds later he heard a loud pop and the sound of a shell casing falling to the ground.
"We went back to him but there was no way anyone could save him," Alyinovich said. "I remembered his last words to us. He said 'It was nice knowing you.'"
Jim Wise, spokesman for Argosy Empress Casino, said the suicide was clearly a tragic situation.
"We would like to extend our best wishes and prayers to Potvin's family," Wise said. "This is now a police matter and it is unfair for us to draw any assumptions."
A funeral parlor in Morrison will be handling the arrangements.
We may never know the entire situation that led to this man's tragic death. He is not the first, nor likely the last, to commit suicide on the grounds of a casino. Here in San Diego a couple of years ago we had a man shoot a police officer, a security guard, and a patron of the casino before killing himself because he was on the run for robbery to support his well-documented compulsive gambling history.
The really sad thing when it gets to this point, and believe me I was close many times, is that it is a "permanent solution to what can be a temporary problem". I wish he would have reached for help first.
As our GA literature says -- It is a progressive addiction, which if not arrested will eventually lead to prison, insanity, or death.
Sorry to post such a downer after my upbeat post, but this is a reality that needs to be told.
John
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