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register. It was not necessary to purchase a movie ticket or to be inside the theater when the winner was announced. Each participant received a ticket with the name of a horse. On the Palace stage, a drawing was made in which the names of 20 horses were picked from a huge wire hopper. Once announced, each horse name was placed on a blackboard opposite one of 20 numbers. Then, four films were carried to the stage, each of them showing 20 horses in a race. Someone chose a film and it was taken to the projection booth, and the film was shown. Each horse had a number, and the audience watched the race. The order of finish determined the winner of the first ($ 200), second ($ 10) and third ($ 5) prizes. If the winner was not in the theater the prize accumulated for the next week. The legality of the popular sweepstakes was challenged by a local prosecutor under Ohio's anti-lottery rules after a
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in Marion, Ohio. Starting May 7, 1936, the Palace held a weekly, Wednesday night sweepstakes. Patrons were given a free sweepstakes ticket when a
Wednesday matinee movie ticket was purchased. Also, any adult who wanted to participate in the Wednesday night drawing could simply stop by the theater and
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Anyone could enter his or her name in a book kept by the theater manager, and on Bank Night, a name would be drawn at random. The person selected must reach the stage within a set amount of time to claim their prize, usually a few minutes (they would not be required to purchase a ticket to enter the
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Bank Night was run as a franchise which was leased to theaters for from $ 5 to $ 50 a week, depending on their size. The payment entitled the owner to run an event called Bank Night, and each owner was given a film reel with a Bank Night trailer, as well as a registration book and equipment to draw
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In 1936, Bank Night was played at 5,000 of
America's 15,000 active theaters, and copies of it were played at countless more. The popularity of Bank Night and similar schemes contributed to the resiliency of the film industry during the Great Depression more than any other single business tactic.
63:. The concept was immediately successful. Although lucrative, the franchise faced scrutiny from state and municipal authorities, who often challenged theaters in court for holding Bank Nights. It quickly spawned copycats to get around the franchise fee, such as
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theater). While not technically requiring any purchase, and thus circumventing the numerous local lottery laws of the time, Bank Night had the effect of drawing people to theaters, many of whom bought tickets anyway.
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took stances against Bank Night and similar games in 1936, and soon theater owners in many jurisdictions faced arrest or fines for running Bank Nights. The improving economy and
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Hartzell, Scott Taylor (June 19, 2002). "Venerable venue had awesome beginnings".
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and other lottery-like games, but popularity further declined as cities such as
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A Theatre
History of Marion, Ohio: John Eberson's Palace & Beyond
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Moviegoing in
America: A Sourcebook in the History of Film Exhibition
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Grand Design: Hollywood As a Modern
Business Enterprise, 1930-1939
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was a lottery game franchise in the United States during the
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