Florida Casino Patron Arrested for Abandoning Her Baby With A Soiled Diaper

An Oklahoma woman is in jail for leaving her baby unattended during a visit to a Florida casino.

Rubi Verduzco, 29, was arrested on Christmas Eve after staff at the  Seminole Hard Rock & Casino in Hollywood, Florida were notified that she left her baby unattended.

Arrest records revealed that casino employees were made aware by a group of unidentified men of an abandoned baby with a soiled diaper they found in a stroller, per Miami ABC affiliate WPLG.

What happened on the scene?

Tribal officer Joseph Cimino of the Seminole Police Department was the first to respond to the scene. 

Police discovered that the baby was left on its own for roughly 30 minutes before officers arrived on scene. A bell desk employee said that the three men who reported the unattended infant left them with the baby and then left the casino.

15-20 minutes after police showed up, they managed to track down Verduzco. She was allegedly described as intoxicated and with bloodshot eyes, slurred speech, and a stench of alcohol. 

After being identified as a resident of Bethany by her Oklahoma medical marijuana card, the woman informed police she knew the baby’s name but not its birthday. 

Police then contacted an Oklahoma man described as the child’s father, and who later said that he was in Orlando but was unsure if he could make it to the casino, and that the state could take custody of the baby.

Following the call, police had the Florida Department of Children and Families come pick up and take custody of the baby. 

Verduzco was charged with two felony counts of child neglect without great bodily harm and was booked into the North Broward Bureau jail. A magistrate issued her a $2,500 bond on Dec. 26.

She remains in jail at the time of writing.

Child abandonment issues at casinos

The issue of casino-goers leaving children unattended is a larger issue than many would believe. As such, many states are cracking down on these instances. 

Last week, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board placed two men on the Casino Involuntary Exclusion list following separate events in which children were abandoned in vehicles. One of the men left a six-year-old in a car, while the other left three under the age of nine for 16 minutes while he gambled at a sportsbook.

On August 30, Atlantic City Police arrested a couple who left their infant alone in a Bally’s Casino Hotel while they gambled in a casino. They were found out when a member of the housekeeping team let themselves into the couple’s room to deliver a requested item, only to find a sleeping baby with no adults present.

Florida’s casino market went through a temporary struggle during hurricane season, largely due to Hurricane Milton. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis issues emergency orders to more than 51 counties.

At that point, Florida’s casino market generated roughly $3.2 million in daily revenue, revenue that was lost during the storm period. 

The bounceback of the casinos has been crucial to the success of the state’s gambling market, which recently went live with widespread online sports betting following a drawn-out legal challenge.