Cool Money Riddle

This presents us with a real problem with money and numbers in a simple story problem.
3 guys decide to rent a hotel room for a night. The cost of the room is $30 a night. So they decide to split it $10 each.
Then, the receptionist remembers that the room is really only $25 a night. So she gives the bellboy the extra $5 to bring to the three guys in their room. On his way, the bellboy steals $2... and when he arrives at the room, gives the men $1 each.
Since each of the original men paid $10 originally but received back $1, each really only spent $9.. right? Well if they each spent only $9, 9x3=27, including their $2 that the bellboy stole only makes $29. During this transaction, $1 has been lost to fractions unable to be divided in money!

bad math is bad math.

each guy spent 9$ counting the 2$ the bell hop stole
9x3 = 27$ + 3$ = 30$

You have miss represented where the 2$ comes into play in the function.

The initial payment of $30 is accounted for as the clerk takes $25, the bellhop takes $2, and the guests get a $3 refund. It adds up. After the refund has been applied, we only have to account for a payment of $27. Again, the clerk keeps $25 and the bellhop gets $2. This also adds up.

There is no reason to add the $2 and $27 – the $2 is contained within the $27 already. Thus the addition is meaningless. Instead the $2 should be subtracted from the $27 to get the revised bill of $25.

This becomes clearer when the initial and net payments are written as simple equations. The first equation shows what happened to the initial payment of $30:

$30 (initial payment) = $25 (to clerk) + $2 (to bellhop) + $3 (refund)

The second equation shows the net payment after the refund is applied (subtracted from both sides):

$27 (net payment) = $25 (to clerk) + $2 (to bellhop)

Both equations make sense, with equal totals on either side of the equal sign. The correct way to get the bellhop's $2 and the guests $27 on the same side of the equal sign ("The bellhop has $2, and the guests paid $27, how does that add up?") is to subtract, not add:

$27 (final payment) - $2 (to bellhop) = $25 (to clerk)

This presents us with a real problem with money and numbers in a simple story problem.
3 guys decide to rent a hotel room for a night. The cost of the room is $30 a night. So they decide to split it $10 each.
Then, the receptionist remembers that the room is really only $25 a night. So she gives the bellboy the extra $5 to bring to the three guys in their room. On his way, the bellboy steals $2... and when he arrives at the room, gives the men $1 each.
Since each of the original men paid $10 originally but received back $1, each really only spent $9.. right? Well if they each spent only $9, 9x3=27, including their $2 that the bellboy stole only makes $29. During this transaction, $1 has been lost to fractions unable to be divided in money!