Imagine 19 months ago, when casino operator Don Barden stood toe-to-toe with the big boys -- Harrah's and Isle of Capri -- in hopes of capturing the Pittsburgh slots license, that his final presentation to the state gaming board went something like this.

"... And we will build the finest casino on the Ohio River. It may take close to two years to come up with financing. There may be a work stoppage at the construction site along the way -- no big deal. But, even if I have to reduce my stake in the operation to bring in more reliable investors, I will get it done.

"That's why I'm Pittsburgh's best shot to build this casino."

To which any sane Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board would have said, "Not so fast."

Why the state's investigative professionals, whose scrutiny should be able to project an applicant's performance in bad times as well as good, didn't say that in the first place is a mystery.

Yet that fateful scenario has come to pass for Mr. Barden, causing major changes in the ownership of the North Shore casino. The mayor and the county executive are nervous. They want a briefing by the gaming board on what the shift to a new majority stakeholder -- Walton Street Capital Fund 6, an investment firm created by Chicago billionaire Neil Bluhm -- will mean for the pace of construction and the casino's funding of a new Pittsburgh arena.

We don't blame them. There are plenty of hopes riding on the $780 million project, and the state board should ensure that these are promises kept. Mr. Bluhm and others said Thursday that the pledges to the arena, the Hill District, the North Side Leadership Conference and to the construction of an amphitheater, docks and riverfront trails remain on track. Let's hope so.

In the end, a new controlling owner with the deep pockets of a Neil Bluhm may be just what the Pittsburgh casino needed. But Pennsylvania also needs a gaming board that can better judge a licensee's odds of delivering to the public.