Midway bets on This Is Vegas

Once a remote desert stopover, Las Vegas has become a world-famous destination thanks to its legal gambling, drive-thru Elvis weddings, and the original CSI television series. Today, the Nevada metropolis will also be the site of the first day of this year's D.I.C.E. Summit, where game development's elite meet up for the Annual Interactive Achievement Awards.

Now, those people disinclined to pay the world's favourite gambling destination a real visit, can run amok in a virtual Sin City courtesy of Midway's This is Vegas. Currently in development for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC at internal studio Surreal Software (The Suffering: Ties that Bind), the game is expected to hit store shelves toward the end of 2008.

This is Vegas' story has gamers standing up to a powerful businessman who is determined to turn Las Vegas into a family-friendly tourist trap. Described as "an open-world, lifestyle action experience," This is Vegas will incorporate fighting, driving, partying, and--of course--gambling elements as players struggle to "put the Sin back in Sin City."