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repeat business. With beaches beingeither closed or avoided by Gulfport residents, Sealy said, "locals needsomething to do, and without the

  beach, it's either us or the water park."

The island themed FEC has 24state of the art bowling lanes and adeluxe arcade. The ful l - serv icePalms Lounge serves lunch and din-ner seven days a week and a varietyof bi r thday par ty packages are

available.

ALABAMA

Around 100 miles away, in Gulf Shores, Ala., things aren't going aswell. A Gulf Shores FEC, The Track,

  has suffered losses of around 40%in the months since the spill.

Owner Paul Cruise said, "We'vefiled a claim with British Petroleum,

 but we haven't heard anything back.Normally July is a crazy month forus. This year, on some weekends,Gulf Shores looks like a ghost town."

The Track of fers an array of  entertainment options including go-karts, miniature golf, bumper boats,

 bumper cars, a bungee jump and anarcade.

FLORIDA

In Florida, things are s imilar .Sam's Fun City is an FEC in Pen-sacola Beach, Fla., which has beenopen since 2001. The FEC featuresa miniature golf course, laser tag, awater park, arcade games, bumper

 boats go-carts, and a restaurant. Oak

trees cover the premises, giving the park a southern flair and providingshade from the Florida sun.

Almost every other years ince i t 's grand opening,some sort of tragedy hasstruck, leaving only avague idea of what anormal business yearwould be like.

"In 2001, shortlyafter we opened, therewas 9/11," said owner,Richard Sanf i l ippo ."Tourism was downall over the country.Then in 2004, Hurri-cane Ivan hi t ,we sufferedsome dam-

coastal communities where tourism has been adversely affected this year.

PLAY METER 63 SEPTEMBER 2010

Island Strikz

Sam’s Fun City

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