It all started with a Pac-Man machine and a dream. Nickel Arcade CEO Eric Chambers opens up about his remarkable rags to riches journey to becoming the richest man in Utah Valley, one nickel at a time.

Growing up in the slums of Provo, Utah gave Eric a tough outer shell and fantastic entrepreneurial skills. He says he remembers selling coffee beans and sparkling ICE drinks on the streets when he was as young as twelve years old.

“The streets were all I knew. I couldn’t bear to see my single mother of thirteen struggle so hard- as the eldest child I tried my best to provide,” says Eric.

After fixing up a broken Pac-Man machine he found inside of a Dave and Buster’s dumpster, Eric started charging his friends a nickel a piece to come use his new toy. Soon enough, he experienced a lightbulb moment that would change his life.

“I knew there was something to the idea of a nickel arcade, but I didn’t realize that it would be so popular. Especially among people older than age ten,” said Chambers.

Eric seemed to be referring to how his Nickelcade’s alluring charm transcends the concept of age- there’s something about  squiggly carpet and sticky surfaces that can make anyone feel young again. Using the bathrooms there have been scientifically proven to spread AIDS, but that doesn’t keep the college kids from coming.

Over the years, the arcade’s massive popularity has earned Eric billions- and every last bit of that fortune he has kept in the form of nickels.

“My net worth is 4 billion nickels. It getting harder and harder each year to figure out where to put them all,” he says.

Chambers reflects on the comparative luxury he’s living in now.

“If I had a nickel for every time- oh wait, I do.”