Try rolling these numbers around in your head for awhile.

$77,736,822.65.

That’s how much money Harrah’s Chester Casino & Racetrack raked in from slot-machine gambling in the week of Jan. 26-Feb. 1, according to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. Of course, at the same time they paid out more than $70 million.

That puts them behind only Philadelphia Park in terms of the money wagered for the week as Pennsylvania continues down the path of expanded legalized gambling.

That road got a little wider this week. And if I were Harrah’s, I’m not sure I’d be all that thrilled about it.

Gov. Ed Rendell this week proposed a huge new tuition aid plan to help students who hope attend one of the state-owned universities or community colleges. He’s looking to raise millions to offset tuition, room and board, books and fees for families struggling with skyrocketing college costs. That’s no small feat when the state is wallowing in $2.3 billion of red ink.

No problem, according to Rendell. He has a way to raise the money. The man who gave us slots parlors is ready to roll the dice again. Rendell is proposing legalizing video poker machines in taverns and private clubs, and taxing the proceeds. Right now it is estimated that there are something along the lines of 17,000 illegal poker machines operating in the state. They are a common sight in tap rooms all across Delaware County.

Most of the time, everyone sort of winks and giggles when it comes to the illegal payouts. But the state has from time to time raided taverns, hauling out machines and boatloads of cash.

This is Rendell’s logic: The machines are already there. People are gambling anyhow, why don’t we legalize it and get a cut of the action. Everybody wins, right? Not exactly. First, some people lose. Some guys will dump their check into the machines at their local watering hole before they ever get home.

But I think there’s another loser here that no one is talking about.

If I’m Harrah’s, or for that matter any of the seven swanky new slots parlors operating here in the land of expanded gambling, I’m not thrilled.

In fact, I’m livid. And yet we haven’t heard a peep out of them. Odd.

Maybe I’m missing something. But doesn’t this proposal mean that a lot of those people now sitting in front of those slot machines at Harrah’s can simply walk down to the corner bar and play video poker machines instead?

So maybe the atmosphere is not exactly the same. We’re not talking ambience or a night out there. We’re talking about winning and losing.

Here’s something you may or may not know. All that money that is rolling into the state coffers to lower property taxes and projects like the new stadium in Chester? It’s coming from those slot machines at Harrah’s.

In order to get their licenses, the slots operators agreed to a huge tax bite from Pennsylvania. They fork over a much bigger chunk of their winnings than they do in either New Jersey or Las Vegas.

I guess there’s more than enough money to go around. In January, the slots at Harrah’s took in more than $330 million. It was a good month. They needed it. Their numbers actually had been trailing off at the end of last year. Maybe gambling isn’t recession-proof after all. It certainly isn’t in Atlantic City.

Harrah’s slots revenues had been consistently dropping during the last six months of 2008. Back in July they hauled in $334 million. By December that number was down to $305 million. Then they got that huge spurt in January. I don’t think they’re crying poor-mouth, but if I was them I wouldn’t necessarily like that trend.

Which is why I wouldn’t think they’d be big fans of Rendell’s video poker plan.

The governor has proved more than once he’s willing to roll the dice.

I’m still waiting for Harrah’s and the rest of the slots operators to tell him they think this idea should crap out.