8-Jan-08. Researchers create a virtual Vegas playground in Guelph. Globe and Mail, L2.

University of Guelph researchers have created a panoramic virtual reality viewer that offers the sights and sounds of an amalgam of about 17 Las Vegas casinos. Researchers anticipate that the life-sized, 360-degree image projected inside a giant sphere – with standing room in the centre for a subject or two – will help them better understand what sends some gamblers into a trance-like state. Karen Finlay, a marketing professor at the university, said that encouraging policy makers to design casinos that foster responsible gambling is the ultimate goal. The research is supported by the Ontario Problem Gambling Research Centre.