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Higher Penalties Eyed for Bad Gambling Parents

A pair of local lawmakers is planning to unveil legislation aimed at cracking down on people who leave children unattended in vehicles while they gamble -- something that's happened six times this summer at Parx Casino in Bensalem (see previous story).



KYW's Tony Romeo reports
that state Rep. Gene DiGirolamo (R-Bucks), who's crafting the legislation along with state Sen. Tommy Tomlinson (R-Bucks), isn't ready to discuss details of the bill but says the idea is to create a deterrent:

"If people know that there are severe consequences, that there is a really good possibility that if you get caught you're going to be sent to jail and face a severe penalty -– I think if we can get that message out, I mean, hopefully that will stop people."

DiGirolamo says he also expects Parx casino and Bensalem Township police to take part in the news conference later this week and have some announcements of their own.

Parx told the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board earlier this month that it planned to step up security patrols during peak hours.

The board said both Parx and Bensalem Police need to more (see related story).

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