Table games in Pennsylvania? Bet the house on it. Our House of Representatives just did.

The state House signed off on the measure Wednesday and sent it along to Gov. Ed Rendell for his signature. It was needed to close a $230 million budget gap in the state. And also to avoid a threat from Rendell to ax another 1,000 state employees if he did not have the measure on his desk by the end of the week.

But that doesn’t mean you’ll be able to hit Harrah’s down in Chester this weekend and play poker or roulette. The best guess is it could be next six to nine months before table games can be up and running in the state’s new slots parlors.

There’s a couple of interesting things about this whole fascination our legislators now have with legalized gambling. I was one of those who supported the original move to OK slots parlors. My thinking was I was tired of seeing the state bleed money from every border as bettors drove to Atlantic City or Wilmington to roll the dice.

But I said then, and am even more concerned now, that the state has opened up Pandora’s Box. If it seems like every new budget concern is being addressed by more gambling, you’re not wrong. Once headed down this road, it’s hard to reverse directions.

But there is another benefit that the region should see from table games. For the most part, slots are gravy for casinos such as Harrah’s. Bettors pump money into the one-armed bandits. Table games, on the other hand, need bodies. That means jobs. Lots of them.

I also was interested in how the vote broke down in the state House. Republicans lined up against the measure. But in the Delco delegation, two members of the GOP broke rank with the party to back the measure. They would be Rep. Nick Micozzie, R-163, of Upper Darby, and Rep. Nick Miccarelli, R-162, of Ridley. It was Miccarelli’s first vote since returning from his tour of duty in Iraq. He might want to ask for combat pay after going against his own party.

I also notice that voting against the table games legislation was Rep. Mario Civera, R-164, our newest county councilman.

Civera had said that part of his reasoning for staying on in his state rep’s post was to work on table games legislation, which was needed to finally cure the budget deficit. But he went with his party in voting against it.

Does that mean he’s ready to leave the House and focus on his county council job? Don’t bet on it. Civera has been asked to stay on to work on an expedited state budget process.

Wonder if there’s any new forms of gambling they can dream up to deal with the next big budget crisis, the state’s public employee pensions funds?