When gambling called, Rebecca Yandoli listened.

Thats why Wind Creek Casino security found her 4-year-old wandering the halls of the Bethlehem hotel casino at 4 a.m. while the admitted addict gambled downstairs.

But the 27-year-old Hunderton County, New Jersey, woman said shes taken steps to make sure this wont happen again.

That was enough to convince Northampton County Assistant District Attorney Laura Majewski that probation was appropriate punishment for Yandoli. President Judge Michael Koury sentenced her Tuesday to five years of probation.

I have not gambled since the night of the arrest. I was attending regular GA meetings and will continue to not gamble, she told the judge via Skype during a video court hearing.

Yandoli confirmed she is receiving counseling, attends alcoholic and narcotics anonymous meetings and completed a parenting class. She told Koury shes sorry for her decision to leave her child alone during the early morning hours of Nov. 16, 2019. Police said she left the child at 1:15 a.m.

There is no excuse for what she did. It is completely unacceptable to leave a 4-year-old in a hotel room by themselves but she did it because of this overwhelming compulsion to gamble, defense attorney Scott Wilhelm said.

Yandoli agreed to keep a full-time job. She said she lives in Whitehouse Station. She said social workers from Pennsylvania and New Jersey both closed investigations without finding wrongdoing against her as a parent.

Im just taking as many strides as I can to never be the person who committed the offense, doing everything I can to be a healthier mother and the best individual I can be today, Yandoli said.

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Rudy Miller may be reached at rmiller@lehighvalleylive.com. If theres anything about this story that needs attention, please email him. Follow him on Twitter @RudyMillerLV. Find Easton area news on Facebook.

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Mom blames gambling addiction for leaving her 4-year-old in casino hotel room - lehighvalleylive.com