Another chapter in Pennsylvania gambling began yesterday, when western Pennsylvania opened its table games at the Meadows, Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh, and

Presque Isle in Erie.

Mohegan Sun at Pocono, Penn National and Harrah’s Chester operation will open the eastern continent within 10 days.

One analyst, Dennis Farrell of Wells Fargo Securities, told the Philadelphia Inquirer that the 700 table games being added to the Pennsylvania menu could boost revenues by $350 million to $450 million within three years.

The Meadows opened yesterday morning at 6:00 a.m., then held a formal ribbon cutting five hours later with a contingent of Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl players kicking things off with a mock craps game.

The track also opened a 9,800 square-foot poker room with 26 tables yesterday and said it had added 550 jobs with the table game expansion.

Between 50 and 75 people were on hand for the 6:00 a.m. Meadows opening; the number had increased to 150 to 200 by 9:00 a.m., and by 3:00 p.m. the Meadows had no empty seats at its 20 poker tables and 42 other table game locations.

A Moody’s Investors senior VP told the Inquirer that unless Atlantic City found some way to turn things around, the competition could pass the beach resort in size, “if not this year, then in 2011.” Mark Juliano, the new head of the New Jersey Casino association, said his casinos were studying developments.

(Harness Tracks of America)