A Velva couple who tried to give away their bowling alley to the winner of a tournament say a local bank is now trying to take it - without knocking down a pin.

Darin Bail said his unsuccessful efforts to set up a tournament that would work drained his finances and put Star City Lanes in debt. The business has since closed.

"We spent all of our money trying to put on this tournament," he said. "We didn't have any money to pay the mortgage over the summer."

Bail said he received a notice a couple of weeks ago from the Peoples State Bank in Velva, notifying him of the bank's intent to foreclose. Bank President Richard Beall declined to comment, citing client confidentiality.

The bank's attorney, Jim Maxson, also said he could not talk about specifics because of confidentiality laws. However, he said, "I can assure you we don't have a hair trigger in my office or at the People's State Bank in Velva."

Bail got international media coverage and almost 10,000 hits on his business Web site last spring when he announced plans for a tournament to give away his bowling alley. He needed 600 entrants to make it work financially, but got only 11 people who wanted to come to North Dakota to bowl for the business.

Bail blamed high gas prices and came up with a second plan: to get 12 bowling alleys around the country to hold qualifying rounds so bowlers didn't have to drive so far. That idea also fizzled, and in June the bowling alley shut down, putting one full-time employee and three part-timers out of work.

"After the tournament fell through, it just came crashing down," Bail said.

Bail and his wife, Margaret, wanted to give up the business they had owned for about two years in the north central town of 1,000 people so the family could spend more time in Oregon, where they have relatives.

Darin Bail said he and his wife are now both enrolled at Minot State University, and they want to stay in the state. He is pursuing a degree in education with an emphasis on coaching, and his wife is focusing on medical writing, Bail said.

"We're going to reassess our career goals," he said.

Gene Watne, who ran the bowling alley for 30 years, said "the place has always had a little bit of a struggle to make it work."

"There's been a bowling alley in Velva for, I bet you, close to 100 years," Watne said. "Velva needs the business, especially the cafe part of it. I really like Darin and Margaret. They're a nice couple. They deserve a chance. I want it to work out for them."

Bail said he hopes to work out the bowling alley problems and either reopen the business or sell it outright.

"I guess we'll have to wait and have the lawyers get it all worked out for us," he said.

Bail's attorney, Lori Weisz, did not return a telephone call seeking comment Wednesday.