Story Archive

Buffeted

John Noble, 53, shot himself in the head at a buffet at the M Resort Spa Casino in Henderson, Nev., in front of scores of diners. Noble wanted it to be clear as to why he killed himself, so he didn’t just leave a note, he left a two-hour DVD of himself discussing his reasons inside a 270-page bound volume with a table of contents — and a “curse” upon those he blamed. His primary reason seems to be that the M Resort had awarded him free meals at the buffet for life, but three years later, the resort banned him for harassing women there. After previously threatening suicide, police sent him for a three-day evaluation at the state psychiatric hospital, but he was released. “It looks like we as a community missed some opportunities to help this individual,” said Misty Vaughan Allen, the Suicide Prevention Coordinator for the Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health. (RC/Las Vegas Review Journal) ...In America, mental health care is buffet-style — we’re all expected to just help ourselves.