A Las Vegas man died of a massive heart attack Friday and was coined the unofficial spokesperson for the Heart Attack Grill restaurant. The famous Las Vegas grill is known for its high calorie, fatty foods and hospital theme. Its 9,982 calorie "Quadruple Bypass Burger" is in the Guinness Book of World Records for being the most calorific burger.
For the past year and a half, 52 year-old John Alleman was a well-known regular patron of the Heart Attack Grill, visiting the eatery on a daily basis. The restaurant's owner "Doctor" Jon Basso even warned Alleman of the dangers of consuming huge amounts of calories every day of the week.
"I told him if you keep eating like this, it's going to kill ya. He'd say, 'I just love your place, Jon.' He's the only person I know who was probably at the restaurant more than I; he'd be here every darned day," said Basso to the Las Vegas Sun. As a frequent visitor, Alleman earned the nickname "Patient John" and his image is even featured on the Heart Attack Grill's menu and on the store's clothing merchandise in caricature form.
Since opening in Las Vegas in 2011 and featuring a variety of cleverly named menu items like "Flatliner Fries", the Heart Attack Grill has had other incidents of patrons experiencing health issues. It's reported that one man, while eating the infamous "Triple Bypass Burger" experienced heart complications right on the spot. Later that same year, although it's unclear if it was related to the food, a woman eating a "Double Bypass Burger" suffered a medical issue.
Basso explained how Alleman worked the night shift as a security guard at a nearby construction site located on the Vegas Strip and would encourage people to go into the restaurant. "I told him I couldn't hire him, but I can throw you a free drink and burger once in a while," Basso said.
Although the restaurant may market itself off of being well known for high calorie foods in a fun way, indulgence in fatty, high cholesterol food is no laughing matter. Over consumption of these foods can lead to obesity, heart attack and death, as Alleman learned.
