Dear Lakeside, You and I have been friends for many years now, but last night you broke my heart. This weekend of all weekends one of your employees disrespected the flag of the United States of America. Tonight I went to your casino like I do on a regular basis with my sister and her family. We were having a great time playing slots. As my sister and I were playing I noticed your maintenance worker place a mop bucket into the closet and close the door behind him. That in itself is no big deal. What is a big deal is what was crumpled up in the bucket. It was our American flag. I thought maybe I was wrong. I thought maybe it was something else but it just didn’t sit right with me. I went to the cage and I let a gentleman know what I had seen and if he could send someone who could just check, and if I was right, then properly fold it. He said he would have someone look into it, so back to my seat I went. I waited for about 10 minutes and no one came. I stopped a waitress (I wish I would have gotten her name because she was great) and I told her my dilemma. I told her I could be wrong. I just wanted to check and make sure. She told me she would also let the maintenance worker know. The next time she came by she let me know that the maintenance worker was in a different location and as soon as he came back she would send him over. Twenty minutes had gone by and no worker in sight. I went and grabbed another employee to re-explain my concern. This “gentleman” and his response was “Oh the flag, yeah I know about it.” he said laughingly. When I asked if someone was coming to take care of he directed me to security. Security then informed me that as soon as the maintenance worker came back he would send him to me. I continued to wait. Finally, the maintenance worker returned to the main floor and the previously mentioned waitress sent him our way. Once again I re-explained myself, telling him that maybe I was mistaken and it wasn’t a flag crumpled up in a mop bucket. To my utter disbelief, the man proceeded to tell me that I was correct and that he did crumple the flag and place it the bucket. “At least it wasn’t touching the ground” he replied. I explained to him that I was a veteran and I would appreciate it if he could fold up the flag properly. He told me that he was by himself and that he did not have time to do so. I understand that he may be busy but my sister and I even asked if we could fold the flag ourselves. He again said no. I just can’t believe that you would disrespect the American flag in that way, especially on Memorial Day Weekend. I know some might not understand my frustration with the treatment of the American flag. Let me tell you a little about my background. I am a disabled Army Veteran, my son is a Marine, my father was Navy, as well as my grandfather who was a Pearl Harbor survivor. I have military backgrounds spread throughout my family since the inception of our great nation. My family is just one story of defending that flag, a symbol of this amazing nation. There are so many other great men and women who have served our nation. So many who have died in service to this nation. They gave their life defending this flag. Please give the flag of the United States of America the respect it deserves or please don’t fly the flag.