Lefty was a front guy, and was not a made guy. The TV show was an attempt to keep him in the casino as Entertainment Director, which was a front for actually running it. A made guy would have never been on TV like that, but a front guy? Why not if created the desired impression and kept him in the casino.

Was the TV show a good idea? Probably not. The bigger questions is why did they not have someone waiting in the wings to step and fill Lefty's role. The answer tells you everything you need to know about what was happening in Vegas, and for LCN in general, at that time. Law enforcement was getting better and LCN did not have the talent that it used to have.