Game on in Glens Falls for Jiggawatts

GLENS FALLS (NY) -- When Tony Haze moved to Glens Falls from Troy, Mich., with the vision of opening a video game lounge downtown, his idea fell on deaf ears.

"They didn't get what we were trying to do," Haze said. "No banks wanted to help us. They pretty much looked at us as if we were a '90s arcade and blacklisted us."

So Haze, 27, along with his father, Jack Haze Sr., and brother, Jack Haze Jr., 29, began scouting out other locations.  "We wanted to be downtown, but we weren't given the opportunity," Haze said.  After a couple of prospective locations fell through, the Hazes settled on a building tucked into Glens Falls' 1st Ward, at 62 Lawrence St.

"We wanted to prove a point: That it didn't matter where we put this (Jiggawatts), people would realize what we were doing," Haze said.  After opening in September, Haze has found that his most loyal customers are teens from the east end of Glens Falls, where Jiggawatts is located. He said these customers are "keeping him afloat" but hopes to attract more kids from beyond Glen Street.

"The west end of Glens Falls doesn't really know about us, Queensbury barely knows about us, South Glens Falls barely knows about us, Lake George barely knows about us. Nobody actually knows we exist. It's all been word of mouth," Haze said.

At Jiggawatts, customers rent time at one of dozens of flat-screen, high-definition TVs hooked into video game consoles. Prices start at $5 an hour and range to $45 for five hours in a suite furnished with plush leather recliners, 52-inch LCD TVs and surround sound. As stated on its Web site, it's a gamer's "Shang Ri-La."

Weekends are busiest at Jiggawatts. Walk in on a Friday or Saturday night and you will see all types of teens gaming away in perfect harmony. Rock music plays in the jukebox while Haze greets each familiar customer with a smile and handshake.  "People who come in the store, they matter to us. They don't get talked down to. They're like family," Haze added.

Gamers ditch their given names at the door and take on user names, such as "T-Shorty," "Atomic Apple" and "Bill Murray."  "I told them, ‘Just let me know if you want to be referred to by your user name, because we will call you ‘fluffy' or ‘butter cup.' " Haze said, laughing, noting that one player did, in fact, take the name, "Buttercup."

Despite his initial success, Haze has felt the ripple of a bad economy.  "Like any business, the recession is hurting Jiggawatts, But compared to other video game lounges in the country, we're doing great," Haze said, noting that Jiggwatts is affiliated with other video game lounges nationwide. Together, they form a type of union that collectively give them more pull with big video game corporations, allowing them rights to host special promotional events and receive early releases of new video games.  Haze hopes that business will pick up during the spring in summer, as warm weather allows more kids to ride their bikes to the store and college kids return for summer break.

"It's all been word of mouth," Haze said. "This is a good test market, but we have a bigger idea."