If Butler County should want to dip a toe into the casino trade, it’s still not too late.

But it’s still not a good venture.

Across the state, Pennsylvania’s new gambling expansion law is stirring up debate in communities about whether they should try luring one of 10 new mini-casinos allowed under the law, or ban them.

The state’s 10 largest casinos will be able to start bidding in January on licenses allowing up to 750 slot machines and 30 table games at satellite locations, which must be at least 25 miles away from competing casinos.

Cities including as York, Lancaster, Reading, Johnstown, Altoona, Williamsport and State College could be targets. Host communities get a share of the profits. They also get a share of the logistical and security headaches that go with hosting a gambling venue.

Cranberry Township could be an ideal candidate, except is only 18 miles from Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh. That’s too close under the new law.

The Zelienople-Harmony area would be about the closest eligible location for a satellite casino. The problem there is that a casino isn’t consistent with Historic Harmony’s period village theme.

Butler and Slippery Rock are out. Both are too small, removed from interstate highways and attract too few potential customers to make them viable candidates.

Lawrence County already has expressed interest in a casino. The county’s chief selling point is its proximity to the Ohio border and the city of Youngstown. Butler County officials might make a pitch to partner with Lawrence County and locate a casino somewhere near the junction of I-79 and U.S. Routes 422 and 19, near Moraine State Park. But it would make more sense for Lawrence officials to keep their focus fixed west on Ohio than east on Moraine Park.

For the record, the Butler County Tourism and Convention Bureau has not been approached by anyone interested in siting a casino, and the bureau itself isn’t interested, bureau President Jack Cohen said Friday. They’re not opposed to the idea, but they’re not pursuing it, either.

A casino can be a great moneymaker, if you own one. But they do not usher in prosperity; they do not spark community renewal or promote business growth in surrounding neighborhoods. And they are a fickle source of revenue for government operations.

Any resident of Butler County who has the urge to gamble can afford to make an event of it: put on nice clothes and take a quick trip to Pittsburgh, Washington County or Erie. Or just buy that handful of lottery tickets on your way home from work.

Ultimately, Butler County is not in the running to host a mini casino, and shouldn’t be. Praise be.