This question is just a trick to fool your brain into thinking you add the last $2 the manager took.

3 Men Each $10 >>>> Paid for the $30 Room. Friday night special = $25.

So the manager then gives the men back $1 Dollar Each and keeps $2 for himself.

$30 -$1x3(-$2) = $25

There is an initial $30 charge. It should have been $25, so $5 must be returned and accounted for. $3 is given to the 3 friends, $2 is kept by the manager - there you have the $5. The trick to this riddle is that the addition and subtraction are done at the wrong times to misdirect your thinking - and quite successfully for most. Each of the 3 friends did indeed pay $9, not $10, and as far as the friends are concerned, they paid $27 for the night. But we know that the manager will tell us that they were charged only $25 and when you add the $3 returned with the $2 kept by the manager, you come up with $30.