Gov. Ed Rendell, who signed the 2004 bill legalizing gambling in Pennsylvania, hit the jackpot last year to the tune of $2,000 while gambling at one of the state's slot parlors.

The news is being reported more than a year later because Rendell neglected to report the winnings on his 2008 Statement of Financial Interest, a form elected officials are required to fill out every year.

The governor's spokesman called it a "clerical oversight." You don't say. I'd like to believe him but this is Ed Rendell we're talking about.

From a story in The Philadelphia Inquirer:

Rendell reported his winnings on his 1040 tax form, which he filed jointly with his wife, a federal appellate judge, to the IRS last month. (The couple reported $446,682 in adjusted gross income in 2008, primarily from their government salaries.)

Tax returns are not public documents, though Rendell has provided them when reporters have asked.

If he had not released his return this year, the public might never have known about his winnings. That's because Rendell did not disclose them on his 2008 Statement of Financial Interest, a public document filed with the state Ethics Commission last week.

The commission considers gambling winnings income, and public officials must report them on their financial interest forms if they exceed $1,300 annually.

Chuck Ardo, Rendell's press secretary, said aides who help the governor fill out such disclosures simply had failed to note the winnings on his seven-page ethics report. Ardo called it a "clerical oversight."

Read the full story at the newspaper's Web site.