Bank Night

American  

[bangk nahyt] / ˈbæŋk ˌnaɪt /

noun

Informal.

1. (in the 1930s) an evening when prizes were awarded by lottery to members of the audience at a movie theater as part of a promotion to encourage theater patronage.

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Etymology

Origin of Bank Night

An Americanism dating back to 1935–40

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Bank Night

In Augusta, the Supreme Court refused to review a Superior Court decision that Bank Night was not a violation of the Maine lottery law.

From Time Magazine Archive

Hardest hit by the Bank Night ban was the Balaban & Katz chain of 39 Chicago theatres whose Bank Night profits are estimated at $60,000 a week.

From Time Magazine Archive

The simplicity of Bank Night makes all the more remarkable the way in which it has functioned, not merely to the advantage of theatre owners, but also to that of its shrewd young promoters.

From Time Magazine Archive

Like Bank Night, Roller Derby is a copyrighted name, the product of an inventive cinema salesman from the West Coast.

From Time Magazine Archive

Bank Night is a copyright scheme invented by a onetime Fox booking agent named Charles U. Yaeger, who leases it to theatres for from $5 to $50 a week depending on their size.

From Time Magazine Archive