HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania's jobless rate is down for the first time in six months as employers expanded their payrolls slightly in October.

The state Department of Labor and Industry said Friday the unemployment rate dropped to 8.1 percent from 8.2 percent, as both overall employment and the number of people working or seeking work grew.

The national unemployment rate is 7.9 percent.

Pennsylvania's jobless rate had begun rising again after it dropped back to 7.4 percent from the recessionary peak of 8.7 percent in 2010.

The department estimates that payrolls increased by nearly 7,500 jobs in October.

PHILADELPHIA — Gross revenue from table games rose more than 4 percent last month despite the effect Superstorm Sandy had on casino business in parts of Pennsylvania, state gambling regulators said Friday.The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board said the state's 11 casinos reported $55.3 million in gross revenue from table games in October, up 4.2 percent over the same period the year before.But when comparing only casinos open in October 2011 and October 2012, revenues were actually down slightly; Valley Forge Casino Resort became the state's 11th casino in March and brought in $2.2 million in gross table games revenue last month, boosting this year's total.Earlier this month, gambling regulators reported gross slots revenue declined 4.4 percent last month compared to the same period a year ago. That decline was blamed in part on Sandy, which caused massive power outages and other problems, particularly in the Philadelphia area — home to four casinos.Gaming board spokesman Richard McGarvey said table games revenue likely would have been higher without Sandy considering that tables, which started coming online in 2010, are newer than slots and have been growing much faster in recent months.

PHILADELPHIA — Six groups submitted plans for the city's second casino license, including bids by casino magnate Steve Wynn, local real estate developer Bart Blatstein and three separate proposals that would put slots and table games in south Philadelphia.Penn National Gaming, which already operates a casino in central Pennsylvania, submitted plans that called for two-thirds of its project being owned by a nonprofit, with proceeds possibly going to the city's cash-strapped school district and pension fund.The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board announced the list Friday, a day after the application deadline. The $50 million license permits a casino with up to 5,000 slot machines and 250 table games in Philadelphia, which has had Sugarhouse Casino up and running since September 2010. There are currently 11 casinos operating in Pennsylvania, four in the The nearby competition didn't discourage bidders.Blatstein wants to put a casino at the site of the former headquarters of The Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News. That $700 million project would include a casino, a 125-room hotel and two parking garages, plus shopping and entertainment venues.Wynn Resorts submitted paperwork for a project not far from Sugarhouse, near the Delaware River. The proposal also includes a luxury hotel, retail, restaurants and entertainment venues.

BELLEFONTE — A judge plans to rule within two weeks on Penn State's request to delay the whistleblower and defamation case filed by former assistant football coach Mike McQueary.Judge Thomas Gavin's ruling comes after a brief hearing Friday at the Centre County Courthouse in Bellefonte.The university wants the case delayed until after the January criminal trial of two former university officials.McQueary's lawyer says the case should get started while the charges against former school President Graham Spanier, ex-athletic director Tim Curley and former vice president Gary Schultz proceed.They are charged over their handling of abuse complaints involving convicted ex-assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky.

PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh police are trying to find the people who made and posted a violent rap video on YouTube that praises cop-killer Richard Poplawski and calls for the killing of other city officers.Police are saying little about the video, which has since been pulled from the popular website, while they trace its origin.Poplawski is on death row for gunning down three officers who responded to a dispute call involving Poplawski and his mother in April 2009.The video includes profane lyrics and others that encourage violence, including lines that say, “Let’s kill these cops ‘cause they don’t do us no good. Pulling your Gluck out ‘cause I live in the hood.”