But the Northern Panhandle has seen an explosion of the electronic games, and in at least one community people are hurting.

When the state made neighborhood slot parlors legal as a way to pay for new government programs, the struggling community of Weirton embraced the concept like no other. Now some residents fear that what was sold as a quick cure to recession hasn't been worth the gamble.

The Northern Panhandle's two racetrack casinos have made billions for the state, and made the region famous for legal gambling. But people in and around Weirton are waking up to a new problem with legal slot parlors.

The city has become slot machine central, and many families there are hurting.

One Northern Panhandle resident said he didn't know that his wife had developed a gambling habit until he discovered he owed credit card companies almost $10,000. She ran up the debt in less than a month.

"When you can go to the bakery and you tell your husband or tell your wife you're going to the bakery you can put a couple hundred dollars in a machine in no time," he said.

When Pastor Jim Rhodes came to Weirton's Mercy Baptist Church 20 years ago, the city was full of promise. But Weirton Steel, once the state's largest employer, has shrunk as foreign competition battered American steel. The once bustling mill town has fallen on hard times.

Rhodes never expected to deal with gambling in his ministry, but he's learned quickly. When the state decided to legalize gray machines, Weirton led the charge, and now there are 195 slot parlors in Marshall and Brooke counties.

Rhodes is on a crusade to warn his neighbors of the dangers of compulsive gambling.

"I know some people that had good homes and marriages and now are losing them," Rhodes said. "They have lost vehicles. I talk to bankers in the region and the foreclosures are up, bad checks are up, and so it's really starting to now have the impact on our community."

Rhodes is also worried that the parlors are hurting chances for future growth. He cited a new parlor called Mugsy's, which used to be the city's Dairy Queen. The name is, he said, is a not-so-subtle reference to the city's past reputation for organized crime.

"We're just portraying that now we're this gambling Mecca with underworld ties. And like Las Vegas, sin city," he said. "What happens here, stays here. Then we're going to try to attract new families and industry here?"

Weirton has put in some zoning restrictions, but operators have found ways to pack more machines in smaller spaces. One common tactic is to cluster multiple parlors with similar themes to create small-scale strip mall casinos.

Weirton Mayor William Miller said he's concerned about how quickly gambling has spread through his town. But he said he fears that the city has become too dependent on gambling, which now accounts for a third of Weirton's budget.

Some communities, including Elkins and Vienna, have adopted tough zoning laws to keep slot parlors away from residential areas. Leaders in those towns expected to be sued over the rules, but said it's worth the aggravation to limit the growth of slot parlors.