Pennsylvania's haphazard venture into legalized gambling has hit its first major scandal in almost the amount of time it takes a senior citizen to blow through a couple rolls of quarters on a slots machine.
The indictment Wednesday of Mount Airy Casino Resort owner Louis A. DeNaples on charges that he lied to state Gaming Control Board investigators about mob ties and other shady associates came a little more than a year after the state licensed its first casino.
The charges are an embarrassing black eye but hardly a surprise given the rush to get the casinos rolling.
It was bad enough that the flawed 2004 gambling law didn't bar DeNaples from getting a license, given his 1978 federal felony fraud conviction. But the control board didn't have to pick the powerful Scranton businessman either.
Is it too much to ask that the people given a gambling license have a clean record?
At least gambling authorities acted quickly in barring DeNaples from taking any more profits from his casino until the criminal charges are resolved. That's hardly a tough decision.
One of the big fears about casino gambling is that it will attract organized crime and other unsavory activities. So here's one of the holders of a license to print money accused of being cozy with organized-crime bosses - and even a couple of central players in Philadelphia's City Hall pay-to-play corruption probe.
If the charges are proven against DeNaples, the state's process for vetting casino license applicants will be exposed as a paper tiger in need of reform. Even now, it's incredible that gaming board director Anne Neeb claims that "the system is working perfectly." How is that, exactly?
Dauphin County District Attorney Edward M. Marsico Jr. should be applauded for mounting his investigation. Maybe he should be handling background checks for the casino board.
Clearly, the General Assembly dropped the ball by failing to mandate that license background checks be done to such law-enforcement standards. Indeed, the grand jury makes the sensible recommendation to rewrite the law to move gambling enforcement to the Pennsylvania State Police or the Attorney General's Office.
While tightening the background checks, lawmakers should close the loophole that let a felon get in the wagering game at all.