Big Bank Nite

Big Bank Nite, manufactured by Rock-ola in August 1936, is an early electro-mechanical pinball machine from the company's brief pinball era (1932-1938). Its theme is drawn directly from Depression-era movie culture: 'Bank Night' was a popular 1936 theater promotion in which a patron could win a cash prize of five to twenty dollars if their ticket stub number was drawn -- but only if they were present to collect, otherwise the pot grew for the next show.

The game offers six balls for 5 cents and translates the promotion onto its playfield: Register holes represent buying the movie ticket, Winning Number holes represent matching the ticket stub, and a Player Present hole must be scored to collect the prize, with lights on the illuminated backglass tracking each step. Players could also win by scoring four holes in a row horizontally, vertically, or diagonally in the upper playfield grid. If the Bank Dial prize went unwon, it carried over and grew from game to game. The machine has no payout mechanism, but locations would pay winners from 50 cents to $2.50 when the backglass showed all three components achieved.

The backglass is lit by standard Mazda #51 bayonet lamps in 'shakeproof' sockets 'like those used in automobile headlights', a feature Rock-ola proudly advertised over screw-type bulbs. Artwork on the lower playfield shows patrons on stage in front of the spinning cage used to draw the winning tickets, and per pinball historian Dick Bueschel, the game's slanted wood rails -- possibly a Rock-ola first -- were designed partly to keep players from parking lit cigarettes on the cabinet.