The mechanical wheels of spinning fruit used in the old one-armed bandits have gone the way of the typewriter. Modern-day slot machines are computerized sound-and-light shows so skillfully designed to keep players glued to their seats that some have been known to wear adult diapers to avoid bathroom breaks.

As state Treasurer Timothy P. Cahill promotes the idea of licensing three slot parlors in Massachusetts, some mental health and gambling specialists warn that the newer machines deliver such potent gambling highs that they can be particularly addictive.

It's a little past 6 o'clock on a vanilla Monday night in March and Philadelphia Park is slammed. There are men in sweat suits, women with cigarettes dangling from their mouths, senior citizens with canes - all hoping the numbers and symbols on the screens in front of them match up just right.

They haven't come for the $3.50 hot dog at Grab-N-Go. They're not here to shop at the only store on the premises, a gift shop selling candy, cigarettes, and hats.

The woman, who chose to remain anonymous, had been playing the Penny Wheel of Fortune machine at Three Rivers Casino and Hotel.

According to the casino, the woman initially thought she won $60 or possibly $600 when three Wheel of Fortune symbols lined up. The machine indicated she should call an attendant.

A casino spokesman said the woman had been in the casino for less than an hour and won the $5 million using a $4 bet.

Sometimes the best way to roll with the punches is to roll the dice.

That's Jerry Goldsmith's attitude. The Colorado man lost his engineering job of 29 years -- and the six-figure salary that went with it -- and is now applying for a casino job dealing craps, blackjack, roulette and poker.