Entrepreneur gambles on bar for gamers in downtown Las Vegas

By building a bar for sociable computer gamers, Christopher LaPorte seems at first glance to be chasing an oxymoron.

In the popular image, reinforced by the movies and occasional news reports of addictive behavior, gamers interact more comfortably with monitors and consoles than with other people. Whoever is on the other end of a game is just another opponent to be destroyed.

But LaPorte and two investors have made a $1.5 million bet, an unusually high sum for a 7,000-square-foot bar, that gamers will come to 512 Fremont St. and play each other when Insert Coin(s) opens to day.

"A lot of people talk about gamers as a sect, but they have become mainstream," LaPorte said.

Insert Coin(s) will partly reprise the video arcade with the addition of liquor service. He has moved in more than 40 cabinets of nostalgic favorites such as Donkey Kong, Space Invaders and Pac-Man designed to appeal to a now-graying demographic of people who played the first generation of video games.

But the heart of his business plan revolves around 43 flat-panel televisions, either 32- or 60-inch, and a video wall where bar patrons will be able to play each other on consoles they can rent. LaPorte estimated that the electronic design, hardware and integration alone cost about $1 million.

Susan Panico, senior director of Sony's PlayStation Network, said some recent games have incorporated aspects that appeal to women. Still, 18-to-35-year-old men remains the core market.

"Gamers are primarily interested in the competition as opposed to being social," she said. "Gaming has become more friendly and more of a social experience, but social can also mean expletives being yelled across the room. There is still some social behavior that needs to evolve."

Burnishing the image are rare but vivid news stories such as the one about Seungseob Lee, a Korean who collapsed and died in 2005 after playing StarCraft for nearly 50 hours straight.

A significant amount of gaming still comes down to testosterone-driven duels to obliterate opponents and lay waste to virtual landscapes, said Michael Legg, president of Las Vegas-based Petroglyph, a computer game designer. But he also thinks gaming has matured enough to render stereotypes obsolete.

"That has changed a lot," Legg said. "A lot more gaming now involves people cooperating with friends, working together without trying to kill each other."

Furthermore, many games now require headsets so gamers talk to each other instead of just reacting to moves on an illustrated battlefield.

According to the 2010 survey by the Entertainment Software Association, gamers averaged 34 years old with about one-fourth younger than 18 and another fourth older than 50. Sixty percent are men and 40 percent women, the survey found, while 64 percent play with someone else in person, up from 59 percent in 2008. As a bar, the minimum age for admission to Insert Coin(s) is 21.

LaPorte, a New Yorker who came to Las Vegas seven years ago, describes himself as a gamer who has long liked the idea of a bar for his virtual kindred but never saw anyone else do it. He put up a Facebook page more than a year ago to test-market the idea and proceeded based on the response. A former medical device salesman with no experience in building or managing a bar, LaPorte recruited two spine surgeons as investors, one he knew through family and one he didn't. With the money in hand, he started Insert Coin(s).

"I know lots of people who had the idea and wanted to do it," he said. "Well, I did it."

To appeal to women and more than just a hard-core crowd, he hired local artists to paint murals based on classic game characters and incorporated soft touches to the furnishings, such as couches that look like tufted mattresses that stand vertically and have padded benches on the bottom.

However, he decided to avoid food.

"I don't want people getting my consoles greasy and I don't think other gamers want that either," he said. "If someone wants to eat, there are several places here on Fremont Street."

He could have started on a smaller scale with fewer TVs, no video wall and a bar shorter than 70 feet. But he wanted a large size to show that Insert Coin(s) can work on a scale that could grow beyond a single location.

Contact reporter Tim O'Reiley at toreiley@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5290.

Trending topics:

• Las Vegas
• Tim O'Reiley

Comments

Note: Comments made by reporters and editors of the Las Vegas Review-Journal are presented with a yellow background.

1. BGHS 84/UNLV 89 Apr. 15, 2011 | 3:37 p.m. Report Abuse

   Howie's Game Shack....

2. BGHS 84/UNLV 89 Apr. 15, 2011 | 3:35 p.m. Report Abuse

   Sounds a bit like Howey's Game Shack here in Orange County (open 24/7), the gamers (usually loser dudes that can't get a date)are strung out on Red Bull's and Rock Stars all night and just hang out...good luck, I think you'll need it knowing the demographic of your target. Most of the gamers will soon discover girls and move on....

3. Gem Apr. 15, 2011 | 2:50 p.m. Report Abuse

   Something fresh and unique. Wish them the best, hope it works.

4. MIKE VEGAS Apr. 15, 2011 | 1:55 p.m. Report Abuse

   THE FOUR CUSTOMERS CAN CAR POOL TOGETHER.

5. Big Julie Apr. 15, 2011 | 12:50 p.m. Report Abuse

   Sounds like a good idea,and the brunette don't hurt none either. Gotta go check it out.

6. MIKE VEGAS Apr. 15, 2011 | 11:36 a.m. Report Abuse

   A 1.5 MIILION BET? A FOOL AND HIS MONEY ARE SOON PARTED.

7. Besh.Cooper Apr. 15, 2011 | 11:14 a.m. Report Abuse

   fonso291 your post made me laugh!
   I am pretty sure everyone else will too. Great post.

8. fonso291 Apr. 15, 2011 | 10:49 a.m. Report Abuse

   No fast food to go along with arcade, sounds like a buisness dieing to fell, to provide what the custermer whant,s with entertainment, I always thought one day a Dave & Busters Restraunt would be built in Las Vagas, to bad these guys never ben to a Dave & Busters Restraunt I guess I,ll still hold my breath till then.

9. kinshimaru Apr. 15, 2011 | 10:34 a.m. Report Abuse

   The soft opening was ok. First off if this is supposed to be a bar for nerd junkies why not have the video dj play video game music? Come on it's a video game/ arcade bar. The drinks were over priced. Come on- 6 dollar millars and no tap. Can we say retarded( not specially challenged but just plain dumb) It is cool that you can play a game at the bar, but the fact that you will actually have to pay for them. I mean come on. Your already bending me over with expensive drinks and now you want me to pay to play at the bar. Forget it. The way the cabinets are lined up at a couple of places are too crowded. Learn feng shui. And let me tell you, if it's really a bar for nerds either make the dance floor smaller or again get some video game music in there. Avid gamers want recognizable tunes from their favorite games. Get some megaman, zelda, or mario brothers. Haven't you heard of 8bit radio? All in all, a great concept that was poorly executed. 5 stars out of ten. Merely Average aside from amazing artwork and video game. PS- when you have any kind of opening make sure everything works. There were a few cabinets that were out of order.

10. Netsuai Apr. 15, 2011 | 10:08 a.m. Report Abuse

    Stop your yapping and bring your game. See you all there! ;P Places for gaming can exist & do, another local example is the Pinball Hall of Fame on Tropicana. They have 10,000sq ft dedicated to pinball machines that date back to the 1950s. Great place for a family to enjoy, the owner dedicates himself to refurbishing every machine in there. I met the owner of Insert Coin(s) during First Friday. Kudos to him for bringing a spot for fellow gamers. I'll be visiting them with a group of friends!

Read All Comments