This is a cross-published piece with Mustang News, more information can be found here.
Audio by Keegan Oates
At the end of downtown San Luis Obispo, the sounds of classic arcade games and the shuffling of poker chips dominate. Every Sunday afternoon, BA Start Taproom and Eatery hosts the Sunshine Poker League, a community-focused group that swaps high-stakes gambling for friendly competition.
The venue itself is an homage to gaming culture. BA Start owner Rob Peterson explained that the name is a direct reference to a piece of video game history.
“BA Start is a shortened version of the Konami code,” Peterson said. “It was popularized by a game called Contra, where you got 30 extra lives. And over time, the Konami code got integrated into pop culture.”
While the bar is filled with pinball machines, a pool table, and video games, it has also become the ideal home for a different kind of player. The league’s founder, Donnie Sunshine, emphasized that the events are social gatherings, not centered around gambling.
“It’s a community-driven social bar, poker league,” Sunshine said. “We bring people together, support local, bring the community together, and play for points, tokens, and potentially earning a seat to a Bar Poker Open National Championship in Vegas.”
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For Sunshine, who has played poker for over two decades, the league is about more than just cards; it’s a personal mission to foster connection.
“My personal purpose is to be that change I want to see in this world,” he said. “My purpose is to bring people together, no matter the race, the color, the religion, the background– I don’t care. Bring people together just to hang around the table, play the game that we all love. We win some, we’ll learn some.”
Peterson said the partnership was a natural fit, as Sunshine’s mission to support local businesses on slower nights aligned with his own.
“Donnie’s very like-minded with us, and it was just great to have him be a part of this,” Peterson said.
Beyond poker and pinball, BA Start is also known for a legendary food challenge: a four-and-a-half-pound plate of nachos that must be finished in under 30 minutes.
“We are undefeated right now, so the first person to do it will get $500 cash,” Peterson said, adding that the challenge has a perfect record. “We have defeated 12 people so far.”
By combining retro gaming with social poker, the unlikely pairing of BA Start and the Sunshine Poker League has created a unique space in San Luis Obispo where the goal isn’t just to win, but to connect.
