NEW ORLEANS — Why is this football team smiling?

The answer is found on the hotel's second floor, past the escalator, down the hall and through two sets of doors.

Welcome to Paradise City.

"This is our sanctuary," Hawai'i offensive guard Hercules Satele said.

Make a list of the dream frat house, and most of the items can be found in this converted ballroom.

There are tables for pool, foosball and air hockey.

There are six wide-screen plasma television sets. One is hooked to a Wii console. Two others are connected to Xbox 360 systems. Another is connected to a PlayStation2. A fifth, by a technological miracle, receives Hawai'i programs.

"We were watching the 'June Jones Show,' " linebacker Timo Paepule said.

There are six arcade machines.

Big-game player? That would be quarterback Colt Brennan, who used the plastic gun to shoot big game on the "Call of the Wild" machine.

Defensive end John Fonoti was in a moveable chair, navigating his "car" in a race game.

A.J. Martinez missed most of the season because of injuries suffered in a snowboarding accident. But yesterday Martinez was back on the slopes, this time on a virtual snow-jetski.

Satele was using one of the two computers, updating his Myspace page.

In one corner, there are Costco-stacked cases of Gatorade. In another corner, there are soda dispensers and a water cooler. There also is a table filled with a menu ranging from protein bars to chips to candy bars.

Another table is holding four large boxes of subway sandwiches.

The best part? The Sugar Bowl is footing the ball, and the NCAA has signed off on the room.

"This is one of the greatest rooms," Satele said. "It has everything you need. You could live here happily."

Paepule, who was snuggled on one of several leather couches, echoed Satele's sentiments.

"I would sleep here if I could but we have a curfew," Paepule said.

The Warriors were told of the room when they arrived in New Orleans Wednesday.

"I came here with a bunch of quarters," Satele recalled. "I saw some of my teammates playing the same game for hours. I asked them, 'What are you doing with all of this money?' They kept pushing the 'start' button. That's when I learned everything is free."

But the memories, as the commercial goes, are priceless.

How else to describe the look on defensive tackle Josh Leonard's face as he guaranteed to roll a strike in game of Wii bowling?

Or the unabashed celebration as defensive end Elliott Purcell and offensive lineman Clayton Laurel upset slotback Michael Washington and running back Lorgan Pau in foosball?

Purcell and Laurel were paired randomly.

"Then we started winning," Purcell said. "We're the underdogs. For us to beat them means a lot."

The game room is part of what has become the UH-New Orleans campus. The Sugar Bowl reserved the entire second floor, which includes several ballrooms, for the Warriors.

Bianca Tokumoto, administrative assistant for UH football, then designed the layout. She set aside a ballroom for the trainers, who said the area was three times larger than the team's training room in the UH athletic complex.

Another ballroom was converted into a "locker room," where each player's uniform and equipment are placed.

A conference room became video coordinator Lopaka Ornellas' editing room. Two hours after yesterday's practice, he produced separate tapes of the Warriors' offense, defense and special teams.

There are meeting rooms for players and coaches.

One ballroom is used as a dining hall.

Another became a chapel. After yesterday's practice, pastor Norm Nakanishi, the team's chaplain, led a worship service. Defensive tackle Keala Watson, wideout C.J. Hawthorne, and safeties Jacob Patek and Desmond Thomas were asked to give personal testimonies.

"They shared their messages," Nakanishi said. "It was moving. A lot of tears were shed."

Paepule said: "It's good to be with the guys one last time. You always wonder what it would be like if the players lived side by side. They would be so much closer. That's what we're experiencing now. There are no arguments. It's all fun and games. We're going to hate to leave."

But that will happen after tomorrow's game against Georgia. Then it will be back to the Islands — and reality.

"We have better facilities here than we have at the university," assistant coach Rich Miano said.

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.

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