cool new twist to our tourneys

Thought I'd share this idea:
We've started doing something new at our local tournaments. We play 2 or 3 freeze-out tourneys a month with about 30 players.

When we get to the final table, we take a break and auction off the players. Anybody in the room can pool their money, and "buy" one of the players. Obviously, playing ability and stack size will dictate the price. Whoever "bought" the winner gets the whole auction pot. Sometimes, we don't auction them, we just draw them out of a hat at $5 each.

Stole the idea from golf tournaments. It's called a calcutta. It's a great way to keep guys around after they get knocked out (to root for their horse).
But BEWARE! depending on the size of the prize, it can put some nasty pressure on the final 2 or 3 guys.
If the tournament is a fundraiser, the host rakes a peice of the action. It's totally independent of the actual tourney/prize structure. Anyway we've really enjoyed it, and I thought I'd pass it on.