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StumbleDr. Stanley Lowenbraun, a once-successful Louisville cancer doctor who fell into financial ruin because of a gambling addiction, was found dead in a hotel room at a Las Vegas casino on June 20, the Louisville (Ky.) Courier-Journal reports. The coroner’s office said Lowenbraun, 66, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the Las Vegas Hilton. Lowenbraun, whose oncology practice once grossed $7 million a year, the newspaper reported, declared bankruptcy in 1999 after gambling away $8 million at casinos and racetracks, including $400,000 he lost in 1998 at the hotel where he was found dead. Louisville lawyers have said they believed his $13 million bankruptcy case was the largest ever in Louisville triggered by gambling problems. Lowenbraun took as many as 40 gambling junkets a year and lost as much as $100,000 on a single roll at craps, according to bankruptcy documents.
Prominent Ky. doctor, prolific gambler, kills self at LV Hilton
(via Louisville (Ky.) Courier-Journal) · June 29, 2009 · 3:24 PM
Discussion: 18 comments so far...
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It's amazing this was allowed to be published. What about the other 99 of 100 gambling related suicides in Vegas that are not?
Good one Phargo, I'm such a loser I would probably live with half my head blown away. Vegas should pay me for the ways I can find to lose. At least Lowenbraun ended it without taking others lives; I hate it when it's a murder suicide. Those are the biggest LOSERS!!!
whats_not-in_the-box,You just never stop with your stupidity. Now you want to tell the Sun what they can print and what they can not.
Do you suppose this prominent doctor who resides in another state may have friends or creditors who may be interested in his death and may not have known otherwise? Grow up. Are you aware the U.S. Consitiution allows something called freedom of the press regardless of of your opinion? It is not Tark who bewilders me it is nit wits like you who cause me concern. Thanks to the press Tarks questionable integrity is available to anyone who cares to research it,including you. Unfortunately people must wait for you to disclose your stupidity.
It's you, Homer, that is the bona-fide freak-show..Everyone should know everything-that is the newspaper's job. To pick and choose which suicides to report smells very fishy, like you, Homer. And what is with the name-calling and anger? You clearly have an agenda, and it ain't good. You are seeking to put a muzzle on the news that should be printed because why? Possibly you are an exec who doesn't want business hurt by a lot of disclosures that might make gamblers uncomfortable? Either way you are the hole in the center of the spinchter. Deal with it.
the state should mandate that every suicide that takes place be reported and a bio of the deceased should be posted....so we can see just how many people are killingthemsevles over gaming
...and then we should report every person who has killed him or herself because of a bad marriage! yeah, yeah...and then we should report every person who died of heart disease because of eating white bread and drinking soda.......and then......
if problem gamblers did not exist Las Vegas would be a ghost-town.
wow, i thought these forums were supposed to be friendly - that is, i think they should be gentle exchanges of ideas -- may you all live to be 100 and get to read this crap every day.
How true, mred. It is also strange that it took this long to report a suicide from 9 days ago. You don't suppose the gaming industry was trying to censor such reportings, for fear of bad publicity?
Kenodave, it's pretty obvious the casinos and hence the media prefer to keep suicide reporting to a minimum. There are a lot of "jumpers" who never make the papers. Ask any housekeeper who works in the major casinos, it's not uncommon for them to find suicides in the morning.
Woondedbird, I have no idea what that freak "homer" was trying to say. He seems to have lost the plot. Maybe someone is slipping something in the "water" that he soaks his dentures in.
Without a note, a newspaper is speculating as to the reason for any suicide. Maybe this guy was despondent over the thought of gov't. healthcare ruining his practice.
Geez, I don't understand gambling addiction. It seems to be like being addicted to driving spikes into your feet. How could anyone be addicted to that? Gambling to me has always seemed to be a slow way to lose a lot of money in a smoke-filled and irritatingly loud environment. I'd rather be beat up by a high-school bully. Why do people enjoy it?
P.S. Other than the gambling, the rest of LV is great.
Just for the record, BUZZBOMB, the American Medical Association supports the government healthcare plan.
WONDERBIRD EVERYTHING SMELLS FISHY TO YOU BECAUSE YOU ARE A PARASITE IN THE TOILET OF LIFE. YOU ARE LIKE YOUR IDIOT GOOF BALL BUDDY WHAT IN HIS BOX. HE WANTS TO TELL THE SUN WHAT NEWS TO REPORT AND WHAT NOT TO REPORT. HE WOULD RATHER ASK A MAID WHO COMMITED SUICIDE RATHER THAN A REPUTABLE NEW PAPER. BOTH YOU LITTLE SISSYS NEED TO GET A LIFE AND DEVOLOP SOME GUTS RATHER THAN INSULT PEOPLE WITH YOUR KEY BOARD . BY THE WAY MY REMARKS WERE TO THE IDIOT WHATS IN THE BOX. YOU WOULD DO WELL TO MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS AND LEAVE THINGS ALONE. YOU MUST BE AN IDIOT TO NOT UNDERSTAND MY POST TO WHATS IN THE BOX. IT WAS SIMPLE. THE SUN DOES NOT NEED HIS PERMISSION AND IS GUARANTEED THEIR RIGHT TO PUBLISH WHAT THEY CHOSE BY THE U S CONSTITUTION. AND YOU ARE AN IDIOT IF YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND THAT. OTHER THAN THAT WHATS IN HIS BOX WORSHIPS TARK THE MOST TARNISHED COACH IN COLLEGIATE ATHLETICS. NOW GO MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS YOU NIT WIT.IN REALITY NEITHER ONE OF YOU UNDERSTAND ANYTHING EXCEPT WHAT YOUR BOYFRIENDS TELL YOU.SCUMBAG
Bitter and hostile much?
Bet he won't do it again, and I'll give you odds!
$100,000 a roll at craps? I'm sure glad I wasn't one of his oncology patients--this guy was willing to take risks.
"Bet with your head, not over it." But you're on your own as soon as you step foot into a casino. No one employed by ANY casino is going to stop you from losing hundreds of thousands of dollars. It's the ultimate con game...it's a pyramid scheme with free drinks and food comps. The more you bet, the more you "win"...if not in cash, at least in food and beverage. Yay for gaming. It's Nevada's industry.
Exasperated,
I have to correct you - I have dragged plenty of customers away from the tables or slots when they've been on a bad streak or they can't seem to stop themselves. I have literally dragged them to go have coffee, dinner or breakfast with me so they might step back, clear their heads a little, and I often would even try to talk them into going to their rooms and get some sleep before they play anymore in the casino. I will always encourage a customer to step back when they are making bad choices. There are plenty of us in the casino industry that try to do the right thing by customers. Please believe that, we have to sleep at night and it doesn't help any of us to know that we are potentially letting someone ruin their lives.