Las Vegas Sun

June 3, 2012

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Local entrepreneur hopes to start bar with classic arcade games

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Sunday, Aug. 22, 2010 | 12:05 a.m.

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Beyond the Sun

Ask anyone to name a video game they enjoy playing and they'll have an answer.

Entrepreneur Christopher LaPorte is certain of this, and to prove his point he asks a man at the next table to name a video game he grew up playing.

"Asteroids"? Good choice!

LaPorte probes further. "Now, would you play it in a bar, while drinking a beer?"

The stranger says yes — yes, he would play that classic arcade game while enjoying a fine alcoholic beverage. LaPorte smiles and walks back to our table. He's just demonstrated the concept behind his proposed business: Insert Coin(s).

The classic arcade/bar concept isn't original — there are similar businesses in Brooklyn and Portland — but LaPorte thinks it would be a welcome addition in Las Vegas, especially because the city already hosts the retro-embracing, nerd-friendly Pinball Hall of Fame.

In an attempt to prove consumer interest, he did what any sane person would do: He created a Facebook page. According to LaPorte, almost 700 people have "liked" the page and thousands more view the page daily.

"Video games have such a negative stereotype," says LaPorte. "Geek is chic, and we're proud. We're social. This concept could work."

LaPorte's already scouted a location near the 215 and Rainbow. He hopes to open by year's end — though he needs financial backing.

"The carriage is definitely before the horse at this point," he admits, but that is okay. He just wants to see this idea come to fruition. "Someone could steal it tomorrow, but I'd just want them to do it right."

— Originally published in Las Vegas Weekly

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