A father left a child unattended in a car at MGM National Harbor casino last month, according to state and local incident reports.
Prince George’s County police confirmed they responded to a call about the July 15 incident but said they did not make an arrest.
MGM National Harbor said its security team found the child while conducting a regular patrol of the parking lots and contacted the father via cellphone.
“Our security officers waited with him until his father returned to the vehicle,” said MGM spokesman S. Malik Husser.
The high temperature reached 89 degrees at the casino July 15.
State gaming officials in Maryland are formally notified when children are left alone in cars at state casinos. The July 15 was the first incident at MGM National Harbor since its opening and the first in Maryland since December 2017. At least three children were left unattended in cars by casino patrons in 2017, including twice at Maryland Live! Casino in Anne Arundel County.
Prior to 2017, cases included a child left unattended in a car at the Hollywood Casino in Cecil County in January and a young child left alone in a car outside Maryland Live! Casino in Anne Arundel County on New Year’s Eve 2013.
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In the latter case, the child’s mother, Alicia Brown, was charged with abuse. Police said Brown left her 4-year-old daughter alone for eight hours in the garage, while gambling inside. The girl was found hungry, cold and crying, according to police reports. Brown later pleaded guilty to a state charge.
