One of my teams didn't get squat.
One got squat but little else.


The other two teams did well.

Not going is like winning $$$

100%

Not going guarantees you will not win anything.

Just like playing the lottery.  Although a $2 lottery ticket is easier to stomach than spending $675-$800 per person (flight, hotel) to go to Vegas or Reno for a few days just to hope to break even or just win some money to offset some of the cost.

IF you were going just for the tournament, then maybe so. For our group, I have team members from various locations across California and the U.S. We see each other once a year, a the tournament. We have a team dinner between events, some gamble. So it's not just the tournament, it's a social event.

For us, it's more than just the chance to win some pocket change.

But you do you, I'm okay with that.

Just like anything else; everyone has different reasons for making decisions.  I used to be on both side of this.  I typically went with 9 other local bowlers.  But then I got recruited by an old friend who moved to Indiana and suddenly I am on teams that had people from Kentucky and Indiana.  Being from Atlanta; it was a different experience for sure.  But it was a great group of guys and it was a lot of fun.