Sacoa

Stepping into the exhilarating world of Sacoa, prepare for a sensory overload. Right here in Buenos Aires, Sacoa has been a beacon of fun for over six decades. Sacoa started not with pixels and joysticks, but with the simple allure of jukeboxes. In the 1950s, Mauricio Mochkovsky, a construction worker with a passion for electronics, noticed the constant flow of people feeding coins into a jukebox. This sparked an idea. He envisioned a future in entertainment. He began with three jukeboxes and then expanded into bingo and pinball machines. By 1969, he opened his own entertainment center in Mar del Plata, featuring bowling, pool, and ping pong. This center was located beneath a building owned by the Sociedad Anónima de Construcción y Obras Afines, hence the name “Sacoa.” What started as “Bowling Sacoa” because of its location eventually became the official name. The Sacoa brand became synonymous with fun, drawing crowds of tourists to the Atlantic Coast. By the late 1980s, Sacoa had expanded across Argentina. They even innovated with a magnetic card system in the 1990s, a precursor to the modern Sacoa Cashless System used worldwide. This replaced tokens and gave kids their own “credit cards.” Sacoa was not only about games, but an entire experience. From the classic “Waterland” and “Horse Derby” machines to the latest virtual reality simulators, Sacoa blends nostalgia with innovation. The Mar del Plata location, known as “El Templo,” or “The Temple”, spans an entire city block. It houses a dizzying array of attractions across three floors, from bumper cars and a samba ride to classic arcade games and cutting-edge virtual reality experiences. The company has faced challenges. Tax issues and salary payment problems have emerged in recent years. Despite these setbacks, Sacoa remains a beloved part of Argentinian entertainment history, attracting generations of families seeking fun and creating lasting memories.