Playing at Pat's Games in Austin!

Greetings again!
I blog today from Austin, TX, where I met up with Peter Golightly, the L2 that will be joining me for the rest of this EPIC journey across America, judging STG Opens and visiting numerous cities, visiting the game stores and tasting the cities hidden treasures!
I arrive early morning Thursday, met up with Peter, and he has arranged a meeting of the L1 candidates that will be testing at FNM the following night. We chat together for a bit, then it is suggested that we go and visit some of the game stores in town. I am always down to visit a game store, so I ignore the exhaustion from the trip, and we depart for Pat's Games. I am told many good things about this store from the judges that we met with, and am excited to see this store that deals in ONLY Magic the Gathering.

Upon arrival, I ask, "where is the store?" All I see is houses, and this area appears to be a residential neighborhood. Then I see a Magic the Gathering lighted sign in a window across the street. We head towards the BEAUTIFUL house that has been converted into a game store. There is a game-play area outside, covered and lit, pretty cool. Beautiful landscaping, waterfalls and fountains, and a really cute border collie laying down outside.
We step in, and the store is smaller than I expected, with a cozy, inviting tone about it. It was like stepping into your grandmother's house, only this is a game store! There is amazing prints of card art on the walls everywhere, tables decorated with Magic cards epoxied on them, scenes from Magic cards painted on the walls, and much more!

There are a couple of dealers working, very friendly, very knowledgeable, and they inform me of the nights events, draft pods and legacy. I decide to draft, while Peter enters the legacy event. When the events start, there are 2 pods of 8 for draft, and 16 legacy players...this is a Thursday night remind you!
Between rounds I get a chance to check out the inventory. The display cases are jammed packed with a HUGE stock of foils, high-ends, and staples, and when I ask about the normal stock-rares, the dealer points to the numerous boxes behind the counter, organized and sorted for quick retrieval. VERY NICE!!

I get a chance to sit down with Pat, the owner of the shop, and talk to her about the shop. She tells me about how she got into Magic (a business to support her children's hobbies) and how it all started from selling Beanie Babies at a flea market-type setup, to opening a small retail store for said Beanie Babies, to transitioning to Magic as her children gained interest in it, to moving to this location to expand due to her increase in customer base. What a great story, how one dedicated individual can take something that started as a hobby for her children, and turn it into one of the favorite cards shops in Austin! She tells me about the expansion that Pat's Games is in the process of, opening a Player's Lounge next door, a retreat and hangout spot for players with gaming area, big-screen T.V. etc. which sounds pretty cool for the older players.

While I liked this store's MASSIVE card stock and laid-back tone, I could see this store not fitting into the comfort zone for younger players, and especially parents of younger, newer players. The language policy is lax, everyone is pretty kick-back. I think that as an adult player, this store is definitely a must-visit though, and would recommend it highly for a great place to hang out, play some legacy, and pick up any and all cards you could possibly want or need!

Until next time, STAY MAGICAL MY FRIENDS!!!
Michael