How do I divide prize money in the fairest way?
I think it’s tough to answer this question with no idea of how much prize money we are talking about, but here is my thoughts If it’s me, and the prize money is small, like a couple hundred bucks, I say you hand it to back to the tavern owner, and tell him to just give you and friends a tab in that amount. If it’s closer to $1000, I say you buy a beer for the ENTIRE BAR then divide any left over funds between your core team if it’s more than $2000, you buy the entire bar a couple rounds, split the rest with your core team.
I’d say the easy-going thing to do would be to put all prize money toward beer. Buy everyone who’s there on the last night a pitcher if you win and celebrate. It’s a trivia game. You know, for fun. Not a job. Unless, of course, the money means as much to you and your teammates as the winning itself. Me, I’d be happier if the bar put my name on a plaque or trophy or something, rather than giving me money. Something I could show someone later when we happened to be there. Hell, I’d probably end up giving away more beer recruiting players and celebrating than the prize money would pay for. All in fun. That’s just me, though.
If I were setting this up, I would just tell the few extra people that they are being brought in as a special case, that they’ll get a few free beers each night off the core group, and they’ll have fun but they won’t share in the prize money that the core group has been showing up regularly for. However, you should also cover their entry fee if there is one during the finals. I would be annoyed if friends expected me to pay an entry fee and not partake in the winnings. Whatever you do, clear it with the core group and just in case the winnings are significant don’t bring in a bunch of extra players under different terms for each (i.e. some get a share of cash, some get beer, some get the fee comped). It’s bound to cause problems if one extra person gets 50 bucks and another gets a couple of beers.
