Parx: More Child Abandonment Due to Gambling Addiction

Parx Casino Has Another Incident Of Child Left In Car

Last month, Parx Casino officials told Pennsylvania state gaming regulators that they had enough security to slow the growing trend of parents or guardians leaving children in the car while they gambled. Since that hearing, two more incidents have occurred at the casino.

Parx officials took exception to the idea that they were not doing enough to stop this behavior. At the time, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board members had warned that more security was needed and further attention needed to be paid to the situation by Parx employees.

On Thursday, a grandfather became the seventh incident this summer involving a child being left in an automobile. The grandfather, Alexander Salter Jr., left the thirteen year old in the car for about a half an hour. Salter was arrested and charged with endangering the welfare of a minor. The gambler was later released on $25,000 bail.

"This is a point of personal responsibility," said Senator Robert Tomlinson. "This is a point of parenting. But also to get this message home, we need to increase the penalty." Tomlinson is one of the co-sponsors of legislation that will make the crime a felony.

Lawmakers are expected to take the issue up in the near future. All Pennsylvania casinos would be locations where parents could get arrested and charged with a felony if they leave their children in the car. The legislators are attempting to show gamblers that the consequences in the future will not be worth the couple of minutes the children may be left in the cars.

Pennsylvania has become a casino gambling hot spot in the US. Lawmakers legalized table games earlier this year, and the area is making a strong run at becoming the premiere gaming destination in the Northeast. New Jersey has held that label for the past several decades, but the Atlantic City gaming industry has struggled mightily in the past couple of years.