Pennsylvania casino presents plan to prevent children from being left unattended

Wind Creek Bethlehem in Pennsylvania has seen incidents involving 300 children since 2018.

US.- Wind Creek Bethlehem casino has presented a mitigation plan to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board to deal with the issue of children being left unattended. The Pennsylvania gaming venue had 147 incidents involving 268 children between 2018 and 2021, and another 43 between April 2021 and April of this year.

Wind Creek Bethlehem plans to invest $4m to improve security and prevent parents from leaving their children unattended. It’s the second casino in the state to discuss measures on the issue with the regulator.

“These incidents have been occurring since casinos opened, but the number and frequency has increased as more casinos have opened,” PGCB spokesperson Doug Harbach told The Morning Call. “This gained the attention of the board, who has taken a high interest in how casinos are handling the problem.”

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The children left unattended in hotel rooms, lobbies and other common areas, were aged between two months and 17 years old. The average age was 12. Some were left alone for more than nine hours.

Wind Creek said it was aware of the problem and was working on it. As well as paying $4.1m for security firm Allied Universal to patrol parking areas, the outlet mall and the food court, it has added more signs and displays throughout the complex, from the car park and food court entrances to tables, reminding customers to not leave children unattended. People staying in the hotel will have a reminder on their key jackets.

The casino will also offer more employee training. Vendors who run the food court and KidsQuest will also receive further training, while the latter will install a card reader/door swipe system.

“Wind Creek Bethlehem has a zero-tolerance policy for those who leave children unattended. Those who do are permanently evicted, and could be prosecuted by the Bethlehem Police Department,” Wind Creek Bethlehem said.

Harbach said: “The offending parent or parents are placed on the involuntary exclusion list by a vote of the board…. Information on the individual including a photo is provided to all casinos, and it is their responsibility to not permit them to enter their facility.”

Harbach said the PGCB began collecting figures at the start of 2021. Since then, children have been left unattended 269 times while their guardians were in the casino. Some 424 minors were involved in the incidents.

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