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West Virginia is about to break a new threshold - $1 billion dollars in lottery sales.
Without gambling money, the state would be unable to stay afloat at its current level.
The lottery recorded sales of $958 million during the first nine months of the fiscal year.
Deputy Lottery Director Virgil Helton says profits are up 27 percent.
Helton says the increase comes from a larger number of limited video-lottery machines at clubs and taverns. There are currently 6,700 machines.
The state is expected to have a total of 9,000 video lottery machines statewide, the maximum amount approved by the legislature.
All gambling income is up, including racetrack video-lottery, on-line game sales and instant ticket sales.
Gambling experts say gambling increases during periods of joblessness and recession.
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