to be fueling a massive increase in addiction.

(Those examples aren't random: Schüll finds that the stereotypical gambler in Las Vegas is no longer an older man betting on cards or the horsetrack but a 35-year-old mother of two hooked on slots.)

There's the woman who shows up at 3 am to play slots with her four kids in tow. There's a newcomer who sits down at a slot machine in a supermarket on Tuesday and doesn't leave until Thursday — maxing out three credit cards all the while.

It's hard to talk about gambling without talking about addiction, and Schüll devotes a large section of her book on the topic.

Alternatively, Schüll discovered, video machines in the future may actually make internal adjustments if they notice that a player is ona losing streak and is reaching their "pain point." This has to be done carefully — it's illegal for casinos to change the odds in a game once a player has started playing. But, she says, some game manufacturers have exploring ways to reduce the volatility of a game in a way that still preserves the overall payback percentage. That's technically still legal.

There are also more subtle ways to keep people at machines. If casino officials notice that a player is on a bad streak, they can come over and offer the person free breakfast (This strategy can backfire, however, since it often irritates slot players trying to lose themselves in the flow of the game.)

Advances in payment systems have also been crucial — players no longer have