My Dream Home Theater & Game Room

Let me start by saying that I live in a nice single family home. I know how lucky I am to have a healthy family, a beautiful wife, a good job, and a roof over my head. Trust me; I count my blessings every day. With that said, allow me to dream for a moment. One day, when I hit the lottery, start my own wildly successful business, or become the next  Eddie Van Halen (which ever happens to come first) I will have the best, over-the-top, fantastic home theater & game room on the planet. For now, I am happy with my large TV (no, it's not a state of the art flat screen), my DVD player, and the movies I am able to watch thanks to my over-priced cable television service. There is nothing wrong with dreaming…wouldn't you agree? After all, if we don't have goals and dreams is life really worth living?! Life is a journey and whether or not I actually achieve my dream remains to be seen. All I do know is that I intend to enjoy the journey…every step of the way! Now, let's see how much my dream game & movie room is actually going to cost me.

Besides the obvious theater seating (I like the Berkline Group Movie Seats - $2,919.00) and huge movie screen (the High End Dedicated Complete Home Theater Package will suffice - $5,399.00), there are many other things that I will buy for my dream game & movie room. I don't really know why, but the first thing that comes to mind is a Donkey Kong arcade game. No, not a small, imitation Donkey Kong game…the REAL thing! Call me crazy…actually, just call me a child of the 80s. I can remember playing Donkey Kong for hours as Madonna and Duran Duran blasted through the arcade speakers. Almost every single Saturday, my Mom would drop me and my two best friends off at the arcade (our pockets filled with quarters) and we would play Donkey Kong and Galaga for hours! Ahhh…the good old days. Good times, good memories! Oh, by the way, a real, honest to goodness Donkey Kong  arcade game costs approximately $3143.00 (don't worry; I'm sure they will throw in free shipping…if I'm lucky).

Since I have already mentioned arcade games, I don't want to forget about the pinball machine that I want. After all, no game room would be complete without an honest to goodness pinball machine! Now I LOVED all of the batman movies that have come out over the years…The Dark Knight being one of my favorites. So, of course, the Batman Dark Knight Pinball machine will be a wonderful addition and my bank account will only be missing $4,999.00 when all is said and done. My wife will never notice (ha!).

I love to dance (insert laughter here) so of course, I will need a juke box…and not just any juke box. I've done some juke box shopping in my day and I simply LOVE the fabulous 50s era feel of the Wurlitzer 1015 Juke Box. It has colorful, animated bubble tubes (great for atmosphere), excellent laser sound quality and is able to play over 1200 songs. That is a lot of songs, people! This beauty will only set me back $6,249.00…a small price to pay to get the party started…wouldn't you agree.  Even if I CAN'T dance, and trust me, I can't…I can still enjoy the music as I play my Donkey Kong arcade game, right? Oh, and before I forget, I will need a dance floor so that all of my guests can "bust a move" (did I really just type that) when I throw fabulous parties. That my friends will only cost a mere $1200. While we are talking about dance floors and juke boxes, I might as well have a karaoke machine too, right? A good some-what professional karaoke machine will set me back about $650.00. I can live with that.

Another fond childhood memory of mine involves the boardwalk at the beach and endless hours of beating my brother at air hockey. Ok, I didn't win all of the time, but I wasn't half bad. The Pro Style 8' Air Hockey Table was designed by professionals and is actually approved by the US Air Table Hockey Association. Awesome! How much, you ask? Only, $2,899.00….a steal! While we are on the subject of game tables, I might as well throw in the Adversary Foosball Table. Who doesn't enjoy drinking a cold beer while playing Foosball with your friends! How much…only $799.00…not bad compared to the air hockey table!

Now I don't know about you, but dancing and a wild game of air hockey can make a man not only thirsty…but hungry too. Enter the Paragon 1911 Four Ounce Popcorn Popper with cart. This baby will add style to my game and movie room (not to mention make it smell WONDERFUL!). It will also come in handy when it comes time to watch movies. After all,  popcorn and movies go hand in hand. The Paragon 1911 costs a measly $669.00. As for beverages, of course, I need a bar! Not to say that I'm a big drinker (personally, I'm a beer man…I'll leave the fruity drinks to my wife) however, a bar is a must have and makes entertaining that much easier. The bar I just so happen to like will set me back $4199.00. I know, I know…expensive, however, it does come with a mini fridge…that should count for something!

Well, I guess that's about it for now. I'm sure as I continue to dream about my home theater & game room I will come up with even more wonderful things to add. Oh, before I forget…a dart board ($150) and art work…I must have the famous "dogs playing pool" picture and at least one neon sign over my bar. Those two items can't be more than $300….can they? In the meantime, let's add up what my dream room is going to cost me.

• Adversary Foosball Table - $799.00
• Pro Style 8' Air Hockey Table - $2,899.00
• Berkline Movie Seats - $2,919.00
• High End Dedicated Home Theater Package - $5,399.00
• Paragon 1911 Popcorn Popper with Cart - $669.95
• Batman Dark Knight Pinball Machine - $4,999.00
• Wurlitzer 1015 CD Juke Box - $6,249.00
• Mini Bar - $4199.00
• Donkey Kong Arcade Game - $3143.00
• Dance Floor - $1200.00
• Karaoke Machine - $650.00
• Neon Bar Sign and Art - $300.00

Ok, that is a grand total of a whopping $33,425!! Wow! I have big, not to mention expensive dreams! Now only if I had a big enough house to fit all this stuff. But that my friends….is another story, all together! As they say…..dream big, or go home.