I wasn't sure how anybody else did. I made $2.50 and didn't have more than another chance or two to make money. I did have several chances to win a free game but came up short.
Do bowling center operators have a document that shows what the average payout is for a certain number of colored pins in the racks? I think I read somewhere that most lanes have 23 pins — enough for have a set of 10 on the lane and another set ready to be placed, with some extras. So, for instance, if you have five colored pins out of the 23, how often do they get placed in a position to be worth money, and how often does an average bowler convert a strike on those opportunities?
For a certain proportion of strikes to spares, what would your average need to be in order to make casino bowling pay for itself?
Those aren't necessarily easy questions to answer. If I'm ever working on a master's thesis in economics, maybe this could be the start of something.
The O-fers fall party didn't feature some of the shirt-ripping, stair-tripping hijinks of years past, but it was still a fun evening for those who attended. Our thanks goes to River City Lanes for being a gracious host, and to Gigi Penick and Eva Sullivan for setting the whole thing up.
If anyone knows Jessica's last name, please drop the O-fers an e-mail at coach@o-fers.com so I can get it on this page.
