If you haven’t been to one of our slot machine raffles, we bet you’re wondering, just how does this thing work?! Well, we’re here to tell you.
Typically, the day before a limited-edition sneaker release, we announce on Instagram that we will have an in-store slot machine raffle at Foot District and that we have a certain amount of raffle tickets for each shoe size available for pick up that day. Participants must arrive at the store in person with their ID (NIE as it’s called here in Spain) at the specific time in which the raffle tickets will be available. We write down the name, ID number, and shoe size of each participant on a master list and, in exchange, each participant receives a raffle ticket. After the raffle tickets have all been distributed, we close the list.
The next day (on the day of the release) the participants must be outside of our store at least 15 minutes prior to the start of the slot machine raffle (usually, that means 10:45am for an 11am raffle start). When we begin, we call the names of the participants, according to shoe size. We play rounds of our slot machine raffle in small groups at a time, according to each shoe size. We normally start with smallest size and go up from there. Each participant has the chance to play the slot machine only once. When their name is called they are given a Foot District coin to insert in the slot machine and they have one chance to pull the lever on the slot machine. There is a computer screen on the slot machine that shows the results as three rotating reels of sneakers. Each sneaker is worth a certain number of points. Cards with the slot machine rules that explain how many points each sneaker adds up to are passed out to each participant prior to playing.
In the air there’s a tenseness and feeling of excitement, at the same time, as each player takes their turn at the slot machine. After pulling the lever and the rotating reels come to a stop, quick math is done by our team to add up the images of the sneakers on the screen (which are worth about 6- 10 points each). The participant’s score is recorded on the list, and at the end of each round, the players with the highest points are the winners of the raffle for the sneakers in that size. The joy is palpable in the air when the names are called and each winner lines up to purchase their prize. On the day of our slot machine raffles, all participants are made to feel welcome and part of the Foot District Friends and Family, win or lose. All are treated fairly, and a sense of community is felt all around in Foot District. At the end of the day, we all feel lucky.
