Hey Dave,
Have you dug through the Project Arcade section yet?
The gentleman most responsible for the whole BYOAC universe has literally written the book on this stuff:
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,15717.0.htmlPretty much anything you can think of has been asked somewhere around here- and probably by someone near where you live.
Hard to say about cost.
Material and labor is really expensive in my neighborhood so a good quality finished cabinet with molding, graphics, casters, doors,etc. would be approaching $2000.
And that's not any of the guts- power distribution, monitor, PC, sound system, controls and interface, etc.
Most people you'll find around here build their own and it easily becomes an obsession- even if you don't have much time or space.
You really only need 3 sheets of good quality 3/4" plywood, some screws and glue and then whatever you want to do for cosmetics.
If you have a router and slot cutter bit then you can put on some real T molding and with some hinges or coin door, control panel clamps and marquee stuff- voila.
Then you have the platform to build a system inside and see what you want for controls.
Read up as much as you can before you start and you will end up with a result that takes less time, looks and plays better and maybe even costs less too.
It really is a lot of fun.
Aloha,
Bobby