Let the (arcade) games begin ... soon
An act of serendipity will see a new arcade boasting more than 40 gaming machines open in New Plymouth’s city centre.
Businessman Nick Azevedo is launching Play2Win on Devon St West’s Top Town complex beneath Event Cinemas.
Azevedo, of Palmerston North, hopes to officially open in early June, only months after he chanced upon an empty shop while waiting for his tardy friends.
‘‘I was in New Plymouth for the day visiting friends who live there,’’ he said.
‘‘They were running late and so I wandered aimlessly through the town and realised they didn’t have an arcade.’’
Azevedo, 53, then came across a vacant shop in the lower level of Top Town which, with the cinemas on the upper floor, he saw as gaming spot potential. He made contact with the real estate agent that day and within a week he’d signed a lease.
It’s not the first time Top Town has had an arcade. Only in recent years did a long-standing gaming area next to the cinemas close. Currently, there is an arcade at Bowlarama in New Plymouth.
Azevedo, a UK national, has been in the gaming business for around 25 years, starting out in London with just a few machines which he supplied to pubs. ‘‘We eventually became the biggest operator of certain machines over there.’’
But in 2003, Azevedo sold his businesses and relocated to New Zealand to start a family with his Kiwi wife.
They currently own an arcade in Palmerston North as part of their Cloud 9 Trampoline Park.
Rebranding work is under way to convert that arcade to Play2Win and Azevedo aims to open more of the gaming centres across the country.
While he plans to open New Plymouth’s gaming centre in the coming weeks, it would depend on when the last shipment of machines arrives from the United States.
The incoming games were held up in the Suez Canal in March when a giant container ship became wedged across the waterway and blocked the trade route for six days.
Azevedo said excitement surrounding the arcade was building.
‘‘Whenever we have technicians in the store, it draws a bit of a crowd.
‘‘It’s definitely creating a buzz.’’