The revenue from slot machines in Pennsylvania casinos was up slightly 1.3 percent in April, compared to the same month in 2011.
But the tally of $214.1 million included the first full month of revenue from the Valley Forge Casino Resort, which opened March 31.
Without that addition, the money generated by existing casinos actually fell 0.6 percent from the same period the year before.
All that means is what we have maintained all along - there is only so much money to be spent and lost at casinos by regular people, no matter how many different games are put in the gambling palaces.
And that's why it never was and never will be a smart idea to plan on gambling revenues to perform such monstrous tasks as cutting school taxes. As time has gone by, it has become obvious what an overstated premise that was from a previous administration.
All the energy expended on the slots debate could have been better spent on finding ways to make our public education system more efficient and effective.
What a shame.
