Couple left 3-year-old alone in hotel room to gamble at Hard Rock, police say

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A couple was arrested Tuesday at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino for allegedly leaving a 3-year-old boy alone inside of their hotel room for two and a half hours while they went downstairs to gamble.

Tom Nguyen, 54, and Tin Nguyen, 37, are boyfriend and girlfriend and were visiting from Tampa.

They appeared in court Wednesday morning, where it was revealed that the 3-year-old was able to get out of the hotel room and ended up locking himself out while investigators say the couple was gambling.

Nguyen and Nguyen were taken into custody by Seminole police and charged with child neglect without great bodily harm. Both were given pretrial release, meaning they will be allowed out of jail sometime Wednesday.

The judge ordered neither of them to have contact with the child, who is now in the custody of the Florida Department of Children and Families.

There will be a dependency hearing to decide if or when they can have the child back.