To one man, Bellagio’s waters beckoned

Impact leaves him bleeding, with possible broken arm

Leila Navidi

A crowd gathers on Monday near the southern end of the artificial lake in front of the Bellagio to watch the fountain show. A man was hospitalized after jumping head-first Friday night from a 10-foot bridge into the lake at a point where it is about 4 feet deep. The man, whom police did not identify, was believed to be 40 to 50 years old.

By Abigail Goldman

Tue, Jun 3, 2008 (2 a.m.)

Bellagio Fountains

It must have been a glorious swan dive: the bridge, the lapping blue below, the aghast audience, the drunken derring-do of it all — a Vegas legend born, and broken.

Jumping head-first into the fountains at the Bellagio is a dazzling mistake, a mistake someone made Friday, about 8:45 in the evening, much to the horror of at least four onlookers who tried but failed to fish him out of the water.

Police haven’t released the diver’s name or hometown, but they will say this: He really made a splash. And then he went to the hospital. Welcome to the Department of Vacation Regrets.

Blood was coming out of his mouth, and his arm looked broken, and he was, according to the police account, at least a little bit out of it, or a few bottles into it.

A fun fact about the fountains at the Bellagio: The lake, by the banks, is about 4 feet deep.

A fun fact about the bridge he jumped from: It is, roughly speaking, 10 feet from the water below.

Police had to call a hotel service boat to get him out, dazed and with a nasty cut on his head.

The man in question is in the neighborhood of 40 to 50 years old, by the way.

He is now part of a very exclusive club: people who leaned over that rail, looked down, and decided to jump into the fake lake.

Alan Feldman, spokesman for MGM Mirage, which owns the Bellagio, can remember only three such incidents in the history of the casino, and two of those were on or near New Year’s — the season of unfortunate decisions.

A word of caution: The Bellagio lake water isn’t even safe to drink. And it’s always cold. Even in June, lake maintenance workers wear wet suits.

What Friday’s diver wore is unknown, though it seems fair to imagine he went in with a grin and came out with a whimper.

Discussion: 1 comment so far…

By Whatley

6/3/08 at 4:26 p.m.

Suggest removal

Unfortuanately most of this article is incorrect. He did not make it to the lake, he was not on a bridge 10 feet above the water, the divers on the boat did not get him out of the water and the lake is not always cold.

He was climbing a tree on the Strip side not the Bellagio Drive side. The tree broke and he fell to the sidewalk not into the lake. The guys in the boat did nothing as there was nothing to do, rescue workers were already working on him for minutes before they got there. In the summer the lake is actually very warm but wet suits are worn because the divers are working on a dangerous structure with sharp corners and exposed bolts.