A gambling granny will have to find a new place to make her bets.
After leaving a 2-year-old girl and 14-year-old boy behind in the parking lot, Jeanne Shahan went into a Hallandale Beach casino Tuesday afternoon to try her luck gambling.
By Thursday, her luck was long gone. Shahan was facing child neglect charges and banned from ever entering the casino again.
''I want to send a message to anyone else out there who thinks they might come here and leave their children in their vehicle for whatever reason,'' said Dan Adkins, who runs the Mardi Gras Racetrack and Gaming Center.
While it's not the first time the casino has banned anyone from coming back, it's the first time anyone has been told they're not welcome after leaving children in a car, Adkins said.
The incident started Tuesday afternoon when another customer noticed the two children in the black car, windows up. As Tropical Storm Fay passed by, winds gusted between 50 and 60 mph.
A security guard rushed to the car and got the two children out. The little girl, clad in a jacket, was drenched in sweat, Adkins said.
''The security guard said it had been like she was out in the rain,'' Adkins said.
Police think they were alone in the car for an hour and 15 minutes.
The children were brought inside so they could describe the person who brought them, Adkins said.
They pointed to Shahan.
Now the 53-year-old faces two counts of aggravated child neglect. She was released from the Broward County jail Thursday on bail.
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