New Laramie Arcade Wants to Flip Wyoming onto the National Pinball Scene

The original story by David Madison for Cowboy State Daily.

Earlier this year, Wyoming stood alone — the only state that didn’t send a player to the North American Pinball Championship.

A new arcade in Laramie wants to make sure that never happens again.

Arcade Laradise is the brainchild of Michael Armagost and Aaron King, two lifelong pinball fans who believe Wyoming has the talent — it just hasn’t had the venue.

Armagost’s love of pinball started early. He got his first machine when he was about 5 or 6 years old, a High Roller that kept him entertained through long winters growing up around Saratoga and Encampment.

King’s origin story traces back to his hometown of Riverton, where a video rental store called Video Junction had a handful of pinball machines. One in particular — Funhouse, featuring what he remembers as “a little evil puppet” that would eat the ball — sealed the deal.

“That’s kind of where I found my love for pinball,” King said.

Last April, King pitched Armagost an idea.

“He was like, ‘Man, I have this great idea for a pinball arcade,'” Armagost said. “Pinball is having a resurgence, and I think it would do really well here.”

For Armagost, who runs a business consulting company and says Arcade Laradise is his fourth startup, the idea stuck.

The pair needed two things to make it work: machines and the right space.

The whole project kicked off when someone offered them a beat-up 2007 Family Guy pinball machine that was headed for the dump. Armagost, who had never repaired a pinball machine before, had it working within a week. That same machine now lives at the Roughed Up Duck bar in Laramie.

From there, things snowballed.

One of the big goals behind Arcade Laradise is competition — real, national-level competition.

Earlier this year, no one from Wyoming qualified for the North American Pinball Championship. Armagost and King want to change that by hosting sanctioned tournaments right here in the state.

They’re working with Stern Pinball, one of the biggest names in the industry, to become an official retailer and competition site.

“That way people don’t have to travel to Fort Collins or Montana to compete,” Armagost said.

King already plays competitive pinball at Pinball Jones and hopes Arcade Laradise can tap into hidden talent across Wyoming.

“My dream would be that some kid or some guy who’s just wicked good at pinball hears about a tournament and decides to come down,” King said. “We might be able to give them a real opportunity.”

The arcade is setting up shop at 220 S. 2nd Street in downtown Laramie, in a former grocery store. The Laramie City Council reviewed their secondhand dealer license application in early December, which will allow them to buy and sell retro games and consoles.

The roughly 1,200-square-foot space will feature about a dozen pinball machines, six stand-up arcade cabinets and two Skee-Ball lanes. The partners worked with Laramie Main Street to lock down the location.

“It couldn’t have worked out any better,” King said.

While pinball is the main attraction, Arcade Laradise is leaning hard into nostalgia.

The retro gaming lounge will include a working 1977 Atari system, along with displays explaining gaming history — including the classic Super Nintendo vs. Sega Genesis console wars.

“The idea is you can play like you used to, or show your kids what gaming was like when you were growing up,” King said.

King’s personal favorite modern machines include Deadpool — his favorite comic book character — and Godzilla Premium, known for its magnetic tech that locks and launches multiple pinballs in unpredictable ways.

Arcade Laradise will be an all-ages venue, with live music on weekends and occasional late-night events.

Joseph Edwards, owner of Night Heron Books & Coffeehouse in Laramie, said that fills a noticeable gap in town.

“We’ve got plenty of bars,” Edwards said. “But we don’t have many options for people who want to hang out and do something fun without partying. This brings that.”

Armagost said the arcade is meant to be a creative space, too. Plans include 3D printing, miniature painting and a vending machine featuring work from local artists.

“Almost everything right now is about creating a fun, welcoming environment and supporting the community,” he said.

With pinball enjoying a nationwide comeback, King is optimistic.

“In the last five years, pinball has had a massive resurgence,” he said. “There are real opportunities here — and we’d love for Wyoming to finally be part of that conversation.”