The Missing Buck.....

(typetypetypetype)
Three guys are livin' it up, partyin' like there is no two days from yesterday in your typical, divey, hotel lobby bar. As the magical hour of last call approaches, the barkeep subtley mentions to the fellas that they might consider renting a room for the evening, as it is quite late, and they are not exactly in the best condition for anything , other than passing out. Upon hearing this suggestion, they immediately start to pool their funds together, ultimately scraping up a total of a mere thirty dollars betwixt the three of them.
"How much is a night's rent?" they ask.
"Rooms are usually twenty-five dollars a night," says the ever-hustling bartender, "but unfortunately, since there are three of you, I must insist on a cool thirty." After some ineffectual pleading for even the slightest discount fails, the three men reluctantly gather up their things , each hand over their last ten dollars, and they precariously begin their journey up the stairs to their overpriced room.
As the bartender/bellhop/owner closes up for the evening, he prides himself on his cunning ability to swindle a sucker. But this soon turns into a slight tinge of unease with himself for not helping those three fellows out, which then finally turns into downright regret and shame in his heart for having stooped so low as to take advantage of strangers in such a way. After nary another thought on the matter, he opens the till, removes five one dollar bills, and calls over his little nephew/busboy to run a small errand.
"Johnny," says he, "I would like you to go upstairs to room 101 and return this small refund to the three gents inside. I trust they will treat you with appreciation if nothing else."
So, off Johnny goes, skipping his way down the hall, and soon up the stairs. Then something dawns on Johnny; How in the world will he ever find a way to evenly divide five one dollar bills between three people, without the ability to get change, and still walk out of the situation unscathed? Then an idea slithers it's way into Johnny's mischievious little cranium: He can pocket two dollars, leaving him with three to evenly split amongst the drunks. They will never know the difference, all will feel as if they are on the fair end of a deal, and Johnny can stroll on home, looking more and more like a diplomat every second, devilishly fingering the two crispy bills in his pocket, leaving not a single clue behind to tell the tale.
Convinced of his genius, he does exactly what he envisioned; Shaved off two dollars into his pocket, knocked on the door, blessed the three (barely lucid) drinkers with his generousity, and made off like a champ.
So........ Thirty dollars for the room. That's ten dollars from each of the three men. Until, that is, they got their refund of a dollar apiece, which now leaves them each nine dollars in the hole towards the room. Three guys, each paying nine dollars even, figures to about twenty seven dollars, yes? Take this twenty seven bucks, add to it the two dollars that Johnny has no doubt spent on video games by now, and you are left with a grand total of twenty-nine dollars.
Where I ask you, has the missing dollar gone?


*When I first heard this riddle, the toothless, broken down old miner that told it to me found great pleasure in proclaiming his realization that the "I.R.S." gaffled the absentee dollar, and that, in fact, there is no explanation to offer. He insisted that this riddle is a mathmatic anomoly, without any reason, logic or method to it's mystery. After my epitome and subsequent epiphany concerning the combination to this enigma, miner Bill and I actually argued over this thing!
You will be happy to know that I did so graciously concede from our little debate, if for no other reason than the fact that the dude had been mining in the 13,000 to 14,000 foot peaks of Leadville, Colorado, for god knows how long, and I have at least 6 gold fillings in my teeth; more than enough motivation for him to peel apart my jaws like the prom king wants to peel off his prudish strumpet's silky unmentionables..........
At any rate, I have stumped quite a few with this one, and have rarely heard a correct response. Let's not ruin it for anyone that wants the challenge, and eventual satisfaction, of figuring it out on their own. Let us refrain from ..............type entry..................click search..............pick the best match............cheat ourselves and those to follow.
I will never understand how someone could have an interest in logic puzzles, yet use a simpleton's method to arrive at their solutions. Just another trick-of-the-mind, I reckon.'


CodyC