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Opening your Heart to a Community.

When I want to play Magic The Gathering and my friends aren’t available, I go to End of Turn games in Houma, Louisiana. EoT is a very opening and welcoming place, full of friendly faces always busy with some activity. Steven Lacoste, a very avid Magic The Gathering player, is the owner and operator of EoT Games.  Austin, a volunteer for the shop and regular customer, speaks fondly of Steven by saying the “whole business runs off of personality alone.” Steven does a good job of making people feel welcome at his store. What Steven is even better at is connecting with people who come into his store, so I wanted to see why he ran the store.

Learning What Magic is Really About.

 
I was curious as to how Steven got into Magic the Gathering in the first place. According to him, he started playing at a young age. In 1997, while on his way to a field trip to the park, one of his friends taught him during some free time. So playing on concrete with an unsleeved deck with one of his favorite cards, Anaconda, lead to Steven starting his Magic career. Steven, like most other players, would occasionally randomly quit for several periods of time but eventually, he would come back to the game. Around 2009 Steven started playing Magic at a higher level. Steven won a pro tour qualifier, with his Jund Midrange deck, and was invited to play Magic at a Pro Tour in Dublin, Ireland. After his big win and competitions, Steven decided to follow one of his biggest dreams. He opened a store where he could do what he really loves, community building.

How Steven Makes a Difference.

  Steven expresses that he “love[s] community building.” “I love introducing someone to something new.” Steven went through the effort of learning more card games, hosting tournaments for videogames, and making a place for people and their friends to enjoy their time and new hobbies. Steven acknowledges that while it is a business and he does need to make money, he does all this as a service to the community. He wants to create an environment where people feel welcome. I talked to my friend Brannon about any stories he remembers from EoT and he said “I remember that there was a time where there was a little girl in the store and she really enjoyed this cat card. Steven gave her the card for no reason other than generosity. It was nice of him to do that.”  In his closing regards, Steven talks about trying to find a hobby. He encourages you to try to get out there. “The only way I made friends out there is by finding something in common with them.”