Child roulette

Parents went gambling, locked kids in car

TALK ABOUT a losing streak.

The casino-crazed parents of two young Brooklyn girls abandoned their children in their SUV for more than an hour to go gambling, police said Saturday.

Maria Loja and Segundo Japa left their daughters, ages 6 and 8, in their vehicle outside Resorts World Casino while they gambled inside Friday night, cops said.

Security guards at the casino discovered the deserted daughters shortly before midnight and notified cops, who questioned the girls and let them out of the car, officials said.

Cops later found Loja, 33, and Japa, 34, gambling inside and arrested them, officials said.

They were hit with two counts of acting in a manner injurious to a minor.

Both Loja and Japa were released on their own recognizance after a brief Queens Criminal Court arraignment Saturday night.

Loja was in tears when she was led into the courtroom. The judge issued an order of protection for the couple to stay away from their kids. Neighbors of the Bushwick family were alarmed at the couple’s heartless act.

“I’m shocked,” said neighbor Jose Cardona, 65. “I’ve never seen them leave their kids alone. The kids don’t even go on the street.”

Jorge Logarrela, 52, lives on the same block as the family and was horrified.

“They can’t be parents,” he said. “That’s definitely wrong. How could they do that? Definitely, they should be punished,” he said.

Neither girl was injured but both were taken to Jamaica Hospital for observation.

A strikingly similar incident happened at the same casino in February.

Brooklyn grandmother Renee Osby, 56, left her 5-yearold granddaugher Jordan in her unheated car in freezing temperatures while she played the slot machines. She was busted by cops after she returned to her car after an hour of gambling. She was arrested for acting in a manner injurious to a child.

In May of this year, the Queens casino was the site of more mayhem when a 55-year-old woman was gunned down and killed by her jealous ex-con former boyfriend in the casino’s parking lot.

Resorts World Casino in Queens has been site of at least two cases of children being left in cars while adults gambled inside.

Children are brought out of police precinct after parents Maria Loja and Segundo Japa (photos above) were arrested for leaving their girls unattended in a car while they gambled in Queens resort.