Does the virtual Strip include virtual card slappers? (Via Midway.com)

Do you want to go to the casinos and the clubs, but you hate getting off your couch? Do you find The Sims and Second Life don’t have enough hometown flavor (read: strippers and gambling)? Then step right up, Junior, because now the glitz and glamor of Vegas are being loosely translated for your PC, Playstation 3 or Xbox 360 with Midway’s upcoming This is Vegas.

You get to, among other things, start fights in clubs, drink and dance — all designed with an eye on “fulfilling the fantasy of being the cool guy in the club.” Wait. So you mean when we did the worm in the middle of the floor last weekend, we weren’t the cool guy in the club? We strongly beg to differ.

Incidentally, the overarching goal of the game is to stop a business mogul from whitewashing the city by, among other things, banning gambling in one of the fictional casinos. That’s really an admirable goal that translates well in real life: Keep Vegas safe for vice.

By Jason Scavone