The Poconos' newest attraction ? casino gambling ? made its debut Monday with the opening of Pennsylvania's first freestanding slots parlor.
Gamblers surged into Mount Airy Casino Resort after an opening ceremony featuring owner Louis DeNaples and other dignitaries.

"We're raring to go," casino spokesman Kevin Feeley said earlier. "It's a great day for the Poconos. It's a great day for Pennsylvania."

The casino was built on the site of the Poconos' most storied resort, the Mount Airy Lodge, which had its heyday in the 1960s and '70s but fell on hard times in later years.

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board gave the $412 million casino permission to open after two successful dry runs over the weekend, even as DeNaples remains a focus of a grand jury investigation.

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"I am in so far in blood, that sin will pluck on sin" - Richard III