Look, I will be the first to admit that as a parent, I am pretty amazing. I mean, while my wife and daughter were out of town recently, I watched the movies Get Out, Us, and Alien with my son. That’s a damn fine dad right there. But while I would love to take him to a casino, I am not about to do so because he is well below the legal gambling age. That didn’t stop Daniell Skrogstad, though.
The Isle of Capri Casino in Bettendorf, Iowa was fined $10,000 by the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission (IRGC) this week for failing to prevent Skrogstad from getting her underage son into the casino. Now, there have been plenty incidents of underage kids sneaking into a casino or perhaps some 19-year old using a fake ID to play a few slots. Casinos should stop those things, but sometimes people slip through. And again, while I wouldn’t do it, I could see myself really wanting to get my kid into the stands at the World Series of Poker Main Event final table when he’s 20-years old if I was playing in it.
But this situation wasn’t as simple as a mom letting her kid tag along.
According to the administrator of the IRGC, Skrogstad actually tried to “extort” the casino for money for letting her child into the casino. It sounds like she purposely snuck him in with the goal of trying to get the casino to give her money in order to keep her quiet. It didn’t work.
And it’s not like the casino didn’t spot the kid.
“In this case, we turned the minor away twice,” said the casino’s General Manager, Nancy Ballenger. “It was only when the mother distracted our staff that he was able to gain access to the floor.”
While the casino was punished by the IRGC, Daniell Skrogstad didn’t escape scot free. She was both charged and convicted for contributing to the delinquency of a minor. I’ve also let my son watch the first two and the most recent Terminator movies. Could I be charged with the same thing?
When speaking to the IRGC, Ballenger said these sorts of incidents are few and far between, noting that the last time was in 2011.
“….we’re really proud of our program and training that we offer to prohibit minors and to make sure that only those who allowed on the gaming floor gain access,” she said. “That is why we were very concerned about this particular situation.”
During the 2019 WSOP Main Event, my son wanted to learn how to play poker. A proud father, I taught him and he proceeded to kick my ass heads-up. It wasn’t even close. My ego battered, I was even more proud. But I will not take him to a poker room until he is of age. And if I do break the law, I promise not to try to extort the casino. I’ll just show him, I don’t know, School of Rock while we bide our time.
