A man and woman recently took a trip to Presque Isle Downs & Casino to try their luck at the slot machines.
The couple left five children ages 2, 4, 5, 11 and 13 in a vehicle in the casino parking lot as they played inside the Summit Township facility for 35 minutes.
It is not known whether the man and woman were winners on the slots that day.
But they won\’t get a chance to try their luck again.
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, which oversees all aspects of gambling in the state, including gambling at Pennsylvania\’s 17 casinos, on Wednesday approved a petition banning men and women from all state casinos for leaving children unattended outside Presque Isle Downs & Casino.
The board also banned three other adults, two men and a woman, from Pennsylvania casinos for similarly leaving unattended children in vehicles outside gaming facilities in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Wilkes-Barre, according to a press release that announces the actions of the council.
A woman who was previously banned from Pennsylvania casinos for leaving her 8- and 12-year-old daughters in a vehicle while they played for 45 minutes at a casino near Farmington has asked to have the ban lifted, which the board has denied during Wednesday\’s meeting.
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A big and potentially dangerous problem
Leaving children unattended in parking lots, hotels, garages or other casino locations is prohibited because it creates a potentially unsafe and unsafe environment for children, according to the council.
In one of the three cases in which the board at its April meeting banned people from casinos for leaving children unattended, a woman was accused of leaving a 2-year-old and a 5-year-old boy at a food court in the Valley Forge Casino Resort for betting at the bookmaker. The woman then attempted to leave the children unattended in a vehicle in the casino parking lot before being approached by security, according to the council.
Moreover:And I\’m out! Horse racing starts on Monday at Presque Isle Downs. What\’s new this year?
Leaving children unattended outside casinos is also a big deal.
Between January 2022 and April 2023, the board said it identified 359 Pennsylvania casino incidents in which 576 minors were left unattended while adults played.
The board has banned 14 people from casinos for leaving children unattended outside facilities across the state so far this year, according to information in press releases released after the board\’s monthly meetings. In another case involving Presque Isle Downs & Casino, the March council banned a man accused of leaving a 12-year-old unattended in a speeding vehicle while the man placed bets at the casino\’s bookmaker.
Presque Isle Downs officials, including a member of the Pennsylvania State Police who is based at the facility, said incidents of people leaving unattended children in vehicles outside the Summit Township casino are rare, but they do happen, and these incidents are taken seriously.
Consequences of abandoning children
Presque Isle Downs spokeswoman Jennifer See said the casino uses all of its employees to look for unattended children. Members of the casino\’s security and surveillance departments are actively looking for them and are working in cooperation with Pennsylvania State Police Department of Gaming troops who are stationed at the facility, she said.
In addition to being banned from casinos, where a person is placed on an involuntary exclusion list, an adult offender could face criminal charges, according to the Gaming Control Board.
Criminal matters at Presque Isle Downs that State Police troops typically deal with, based on the press releases they issue regularly, include those involving lost or mislaid property; coupons or game credits left on gaming machines that are picked up by someone else; and persons involuntarily barred or self-barred from the casino who are caught gambling on or attempting to enter the facility.
In cases where someone leaves a child unattended, a person could face a summary traffic violation for leaving a child unattended in a motor vehicle if the child is under 6, the sergeant said. Chris Stafford, Chief of State Police Bureau of Gaming Enforcement-Presque Isle Downs & Casino.
For more serious offences, which could include weather conditions, the ages of children and other factors, a misdemeanor could reach the level of endangering a child\’s well-being, Stafford said.
Educate gamblers
The Gaming Control Board has attempted to educate the public about the problem and reduce incidents of children being left unattended through its \”Don\’t Gamble with Children\” campaign.
At Presque Isle Downs, officials have been proactive in spreading the word that patrons cannot leave children unattended outside the facility, See said.
There are large banners on the building warning visitors that it is illegal to leave children unattended. There are similar messages at casino entrances, as well as brochures addressing the issue located throughout the property, See said.
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Once an hour, an announcement plays inside the casino addressing the consequences of leaving a child alone in a vehicle, he said.
The taped announcement made by Presque Isle Downs officials has been adopted by other casinos across Pennsylvania, See said.
\”We\’re all working together to bring attention to this,\” he said.
Contact Tim Hahn atthahn@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter@ETNhahn.
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