(AP)When Billy Nolte plays "Guitar Hero" at home, he's usually confined to a tiny television in his basement all by himself.

At CyberDome, a small crowd gathers around the 13-year-old Bangor resident, cheering him on and watching in amazement as he rapidly clicks away at his guitar controller to the tune of "Through the Fire and Flames," which he describes as the toughest song on "Guitar Hero III."

"When I'm here, people are always saying, 'Wow, oh man, you're awesome,' so that's pretty cool," Nolte says as he knocked out a few licks on his guitar. "Plus, I get away from my parents. So that's pretty cool, too."

CyberDome, a new gaming center that opened in the township last month, boasts 25 Xbox 360 consoles and two Nintendo Wiis, each connected to its own high-definition television, all in one 1,300-square-foot room.

Nolte was one of about 20 kids who played for 12 hours straight one Friday night into Saturday morning during an all night lock-in earlier this month.

"Nobody really sleeps at these things," Jesse Bond, 15, of Palmer Township, says as he gunned down enemy soldiers in the "Army of Two" game. "I took a three-hour nap before I came here so I could be ready. Got to get in as much gaming as I can."

More than 60 kids have joined CyberDome since it opened March 1. For an hourly cost, they have their choice of more than 150 games. Each game console is connected to an Xbox Live network allowing players to compete against each other and other gamers around the world.

Mark Dressel, a Palmer resident who previously worked as an information technology director for a chemical company in Bloomfield, N.J., started the business to get away from a daily four-hour commute.

Although he says the gaming center cost tens of thousands of dollars to set up, Dressel expressed confidence it would be a worthwhile investment.

"Let me put it this way: I left a 12-year, six-figure career behind to do this," he says. "I truly believe in this as a business and as a true means of getting kids off the street."

Joe Arenas, a 14-year-old township resident, says playing with a large group at CyberDome creates both a stronger feeling of competition and a more satisfying social experience than playing at home.

"When you play at home and you do something really good, you have nobody to show off to," he says. "Here, you do something cool in 'Halo 3' and everyone's like 'Oh yeah, oh man, that's cool.'"