Ahh, ours was just a pay as you go thing. No one new could come in if it carried over, and if you really wanted to you could drop out at any time. Just pay your money before frame 1. It was like 1-2 dollars total, it included high games and high totals as well. So it was only like .25 or .50/person going into strike pot. But even still it was $25-$50 a week if you won. But with the ticket draw, I can see how it could build up quite rapidly.
I'm not sure there is one perfect strike jackpot format. With ours, there have been concerns that the pot can carryover too long before someone cashes it in. But so far nobody is seriously suggesting changes. As long as the bowlers in the league are interested and excited, that's all that matters.
As an aside, these side action schemes can make a lot of difference. A few years ago, our capped-scratch league had dwindled down to 12 teams. One of the suggestions at the league meeting was to establish more side action -- make things really interesting. So in addition to classic brackets, we instituted strike-it-rich, elimination bracket, and ironman, which is a most strikes in a row pot. We also have an end of season 300 game rolloff, where everyone who threw a 300 game in the league throws a one game rolloff for a winner take all $1,000.
I wasn't sure how all this carnival side stuff would work out, but it's been a big hit. Word got out, and we've grown to a 20 team league. Lots of guys and gals from neighbor houses wanted in on the potential payouts, and it's worked. I guess whatever it takes.
