Two local women nearly lost everything; their finances in ruins, their home lives in shambles -- even suicide seemed like an option. All because they were addicted to gambling.

And though compulsive gambling is thought of as a man's disease, KOMO 4 Problem Solvers discovered there is a new, dangerous trend catching women in the crosshairs.

With 85 casinos and cardrooms now sprinkled throughout Western Washington, finding a play to play is easy. For most, gambling -- the slap of cards, ringing of slot machines, and rattle of dice -- is a brief, intoxicating liquor. But for others, the intoxication becomes addiction and a fast-track to a personal hell.

"Even though I was killing myself, I couldn't stop," says Theresa.

"At one point I started considering suicide," says Jan.

Theresa and Jan are both middle-class family women, and both asked us not to use their last names. Both are addicted to gambling.

"I was up at the casino until 4 in the morning, and then going to work at 7 or 8 in the morning," Jan said, describing a typical day.

Both were single moms when they began gambling. But they were quickly hooked and became two of the two million Americans who become compulsive gamblers at some point in their lives.

"We were poor anyway," says Theresa, "I was not making a ton of money but everything I could I was spending on gambling."

Each spiraled deeply into debt. They neglected everything; didn't pay bills, didn't buy groceries, even their children became an afterthought.

"I made up excuses for not being at my son's soccer games, for missing his school events," Jan recalled

Theresa talks about her daughter, "I would stay too long, I would leave her at school waiting for me to pick her up."

Then the worst: both women considered suicide.

Jan says the feeling would hit her hardest when she was driving home after gambling.

"I used to drive home over the Aurora Bridge and I'd often, in fact I'd stop the car sometimes and stand on the bridge and think about jumping off because it was so devastating and demoralizing," she said.

For nearly 30 years, the American Psychiatric Association has recognized compulsive gambling as a mental disorder like drug or alcohol addiction.

Studies describe it as more often a "man's" problem. The last time anyone looked at the numbers in Washington was 1998. Then, more than four times as many men as women were addicted.

Jan doesn't think it's that way anymore, "I think the idea that there are more male gamblers than female gamblers is probably not true."

She's right .The numbers of women gamblers have exploded.

Kathryn Elliott-Hudson, Clinical Director for ABC Wellness Center in Arizona, is a nationally-recognized expert in women with gambling addictions. She says over the past 15 years, the number of compulsive gamblers who are women has grown and they now treat just as many women as men.

But women usually start gambling a little older, and continue for different reasons. Jan has been in recovery for over a year, but still struggles with the addiction.

"If I get upset, stressed, lonely, humiliated, any negative emotion the first thing I want to do is go play blackjack," she said.

But both Jan and Theresa stress there is hope. Both turned to Gamblers Anonymous for help and support.

"I have a life today that does not even remotely resemble my life as an addict," says Theresa, who's been in recovery for 8 years.

And that's why KOMO 4 News asked these women to talk publicly about their trip through hell -- to help other women realize there's a way out, and they're not alone.

If you or someone you know needs help with a gambling problem, you can contact Gamblers Anonymous at 1-888-GA-HELPS. Their web site is www.gamblersanonymous.org.

Also in Washington state, you can contact the Evergreen Council on Problem Gambling. Their help line is 1-800-547-6133. Or you can reach them online at www.evergreencph.org