Last week, Penn State officials said they are discussing adding classes relevant to the growing gaming industry in Pennsylvania.

The plan involves adding 15 credits of gaming management.

And by all means, it's the right hand to play.

Currently, Penn State offers just one casino-related class and adding more simply makes sense given that the gaming industry in Pennsylvania is planning on providing 17,000 new jobs.

The purpose of any educational institution is to prepare its students for the working world, and regardless of differing opinions about the morality of the gaming industry, it's clear interested students must be afforded the proper opportunities to enter the growing profession.

To ignore this field would be a mistake. By keeping pace with the gaming industry in Pennsylvania, the university is doing its students a favor. And even if this recent boom in the gaming industry is just a temporary attempt to revive Pennsylvania's economy, it still cannot be ignored because the jobs are present now.

Penn State wouldn't be alone in its venture, either, as other schools already offer gaming courses. While it's no surprise that the University of Nevada, Las Vegas offers a bachelor of science in gaming management as part of its International Gaming Institute, schools like the University of Wisconsin-Stout and Southern Cross University offer gaming courses as well.

But while Penn State is doing its students a great service by offering such courses, the university does have to be aware of the dangers of gaming.

The National Council on Problem Gaming estimated in 2004 that six to eight million adult Americans are problem gamblers and that 30 to 45 percent of college students gamble on a weekly basis with 8 percent of college students being pathological or compulsive gamblers.

Given that information, if the university is going to start offering courses about gaming management, then part of the curriculum should educate students about the dangers of gambling, especially with the growing popularity of online poker and televised poker tournaments.

After all, if Penn State is going to play this hand, it should give its students the best overall odds of success.