You're not wrong.
And a MAME machine is definitely the way to go.
Get a bunch of your family around, stick on something like HyperSports, and before long your neighbours will be banging the door asking you what all the screaming is about. :hehe:
The only advice I would give you (seeing as you're already more than half way there) is to take plenty of time to plan it.
Out of all the bits and pieces that I had to buy, the only real problem I had was tracking down the correct size hole bit for my drill, which I ended up getting in Cardiff I believe.
But if I hadn't been planning it so carefully, I just know that I would have been stood there with all these circuit boards, buttons and joysticks spread out on the floor, cursing at my drill.
I think I took a couple of months to plan it all (deciding on the plan of the Cab was the most important), and built it over a long weekend.
I went for jet black on my Cab, with red trim down the sides and around the control panel (not sure if it shows on the pics), and painted Bub and Bob each side of my Arcadia sign, but all this time later I still haven't got around to painting a big white Space Invader on each side of the Cab.
That's the trouble once you've got it up and running. You spend your time using it more than you do building it.
Anyway, good luck with whatever you decide to do with it.
You're more than half way there, so it looks like you've reached the more enjoyable part of it.
And above all, it's well worth it in the end.
Cheers,
Smiley.
P.S. If you decide to go for a MAME Cab, and decide to use a Front End, check out MameWah.
It can take a while to set up correctly, but it works a treat.
Feel free to Email me if and when you get to that stage.
All the best.