If you're going to drill into it (either on purpose or by accident) I wouldn't do it because of the chemicals in the stuff.
You mean vinyl right? The biggest drawback is it won't feel right. What you should actually use is the flooring stuff made of actual wood or tile it. Tile would work real good...fancy fancy!


Tile is pretty cheap, has good heat resistance, and won't absorb any oil or chemicals you use on it (as far as I know).
No, laminate flooring ("Pergo" being the Kleenex of laminate) is a top layer of plastic over printed paper, a thick layer of HDF, and a bottom layer of plastic. The amount of chemicals released from drilling into it undoubtedly pale in comparison to the fine dust that coats everything when you cut it with a power saw.
OP, it would make a good sacrificial top. If you're scrounging up a loose box at Habitat or somewhere, try to find a product with an AC-4 or AC-5 rating (commercial wear rating- 5 is best- the defunct Wilsonart commercial would be best of all, but it's hard to find and difficult to put together). Don't buy Chinese ****.
A lot of laminate flooring these days has a surface texture, either a mild ticking or a faux hand-scraped appearance, which means it'll either hold grime, not be flat, or both.
Why not just use countertop laminate ("Formica", the Kleenex of phenolic laminate). It would be slicker, and you'd have to glue it down, but it's tougher and you'd have no seams. Moisture in the joints of laminate flooring will destroy it very quickly; the fiberboard will swell if it gets wet.
JR