RoseAlien Arcade landed in Rosalia

Opening of RoseAlien Arcade now provides fun and games for Rosalia area residents.

“Give the kids something to be entertained with,” said Robert Casey of his collection of arcade and pinball games.

“It’s definitely a social activity.”

Casey and his wife, Patricia, moved to Rosalia in December. Casey noted there was not much for kids to do in the town, so he decided to see if the community would be interested in an old-school arcade.

“I grew up in and around arcades around Washington State,” he recalled.

When Casey was young, his mom worked, and she dropped him off in the morning at a grocery store with an arcade in it.

RoseAlien currently has about 10 games with more in various stages of repair before they are added. Casey has a variety from a 1979 Space Invaders to a Max X duel motorcycle racer.

He has acquired the games from private collectors, auctions and donations.

The arcade also has a party room, baseball cards, novelty candy, soda and chips. For now it is a retro arcade, but Casey also hopes to eventually get a gambling license and add redemption games.

“But that’s down the line,” he said.

RoseAlien’s soft opening is this week. To start with, Casey plans to be open Friday and Saturday 6 to 10 p.m. Those hours could change, depending on demand. So far the public interest and comments have been positive.

“There’s definitely a lot of excitement,” he said.

While Casey works in the grain industry now, he used to be an electrician. That background is very helpful in fixing the arcade games to get them ready for play. He noted the biggest learning curve is learning to do the TV/monitor stuff that goes with it.

RoseAlien Arcade is located at 502 Whitman Street in Rosalia, which is known as the Turnley building.

“Come out and have fun,” Casey encouraged the public.

By Jana Mathia

Gazette Reporter