Opened in the heyday of suburban expansion, the Longview Mall Aladdin's Castle gave East Texas its first brush with high-tech thrills in the late 1970s. With a neon-lit façade and Pac-Man fever in full swing, it quickly became a gathering place for kids clutching paper sleeves of tokens.
From the early '80s golden age through the 1990s, the Longview location hosted local Street Fighter tournaments and birthday parties drenched in CRT glow and synth-pop ambiance. Staff recalls 'technical difficulties' when games like Dragon’s Lair overheated—drawing curious crowds instead of complaints.
Closed sometime in the early 2000s, the arcade lives on through collector forums and Flickr nostalgia. Many still remember its patterned carpet, sticker-covered cabinets, and the way the token machine smelled faintly of copper and popcorn.