Win a bowling tourney, own the alley
April 27th, 2006From this week’s World magazine:
When Velva, N.D., bowling alley owner Darin Bail wanted to sell the Star City Lanes, he didn’t just put up a sign out front. Instead, Mr. Bail has organized a bowling tournament where competitors challenge their own bowling averages and the winner gets the keys to the six-lane bowling alley, the restaurant, and the property. “I call it the ‘ultimate winner take all,’” Mr. Bail said. “There’s one winner, no second-place prize.” The owner needs just 600 entrants to pay the $250 entry fee to make it worth his while.
What a great idea. Just think, somebody is going to end up paying $250 for the whole bowling alley.
That isn’t a bad deal at all. The winner will have only paid $250 for the alley, but the current owner will have made $150,000.
I wonder if they got that concept from the movie, “Spitfire Grill.” There everyone sent in either ten dollars or a hundred dollars (I can’t remember which) with an essay explaining why they wanted to own the restaurant (the Spitfire Grill), and then they picked the most worthy candidate. I don’t remember how it ended, but they made more than they could have if they would have sold it outright. It’s an excellent movie though.
Stuckey Bowl!