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More and more North Carolina travelers do. Junkets to Atlantic City, Las Vegas, Cherokee and other gambling centers are increasingly popular. While state legislators wring their hands over how much North Carolina residents spend on lotteries in other states, more Tar Heels than ever are pumping money into the nation's $72.9 billion gaming economy.

Casino-related travel, especially trips to Las Vegas, are up 10.6 percent this quarter compared to the same time last year, says Darcy Grimes, manager of travel marketing for AAA Carolinas in Charlotte.

"They are destinations that are easy to get to for three or four days," Grimes says. "You don't need to plan or take off a whole week. And the pricing is competitive."

The price is right, especially if you go with a group in a package deal. For $500, you can get five days in Las Vegas, with hotel and airfare included. Only $169 will get you a weekend in Atlantic City.

Plus there's the thrill of hitting it big playing the slot machines.

"Just the sound of it -- when your coins come down -- it energizes you," says Delores Johnson, a retired research technician at Duke University.

Johnson and her sister-in-law Doris Fowler, a retired food-service supervisor at Duke Medical Center, both enjoy casino trips. Johnson prefers Atlantic City, while Fowler would rather be in Vegas.

"If [you] ever go to Vegas, [you] won't want to go to Atlantic City," Fowler insists. "When you aren't gambling, there's a lot of other things you can do. You can see the show at the MGM Grand. There's Waterworld for the children. There's Circus Circus. Everything is right there on the strip."

Casino vacations are relatively cheap because the casinos are betting that you will -- gamble, that is. Most packages spot tourists $20 to $30 in gambling tokens to get them started. And the more you gamble, the better the deals you get, says M.G. Bobbitt of M.G. Bobbitt Travel of Durham, a representative for Harrah's.

"When you go to these casinos, you're given a card that looks like a driver's license," Bobbitt explains. "You earn points based on the time you play and your average bet." The points qualify you for free food or show tickets.

The exception is poker, in which gamblers play against one another and not the house.

Playing the slots in a hotel casino is one option, but there are other types of gambling trips out there. Off the coast of Myrtle Beach, boats in international waters let tourists gamble legally. Six states -- Iowa, Illinois, Mississippi, Louisiana, Indiana and Missouri -- allow gambling aboard riverboats. Tourists can gamble at several Indian reservations, including Cherokee in the North Carolina mountains.

Casinos arrange junkets to such destinations as Las Vegas, Reno, Atlantic City, the Caribbean, Mississippi and Louisiana. About 1,600 gamblers fly out of RDU Airport each month on such trips, says airport spokeswoman Mindy Hamlin.

Gamblers also travel by chartered bus to such East Coast destinations as Atlantic City and Tunica, Miss. The Harrah's casino in Cherokee, which logged nearly 3.5 million visits by gamblers in 2004, is reachable by car.

If you've never taken a gambling vacation, Bobbitt recommends starting with a trip to Cherokee. "Get in the family car and enjoy a nice drive. Go to Cherokee and see if [you] enjoy it," he says.

Fowler has tips for novices. If you're flying to Las Vegas, make sure it's a direct flight, she says. She recommends staying in a centralized location, preferably a hotel with a casino, so you don't have to rely on shuttles or taxis. "If you get tired, you can just go upstairs and lie down," she says.

Both Fowler and Johnson recommend setting a betting limit, though they admit going over those limits a little.

"What money I take with me, I'm going to bring that back," says Johnson, who once won $2,000 in a slot machine. "But the money I have won, I leave there."

The shows, shopping, people they travel with, and, yes, gambling make casino travel fun, they say.

"Go for it," Johnson urges. "You will enjoy it."