A four-way split of the $2,500 top prize at the Washington Noon Rotary’s annual reverse raffle brought the popular event to a close Friday night at the Washington Civic Center.

At the end of the night, Rebecca Clark, Tony Dail, Susan Futrell and Muriel Moore were the names left on the board, on the last four tickets whittled down from the 200-plus sold. Rather than test the one-in-four odds, the winners decided to split the pot equally.

A night of Keyser-cooked seafood and entertainment by local singer/songwriter Victor Hudson and 13, brought second chances at the big prize (tickets that sell at a rising cost as the night progresses) and raffle tickets snatched up by the crowd.

Each year, Noon Rotary hands out scholarships to deserving students to help support them in their college careers — it’s to this fund that the money raised by the reverse raffle is contributed. In addition to the raffle, a silent auction was held on the Civic Center mezzanine in conjunction with the event.

According to Rotarian and Executive Director of Beaufort/Hyde Partnership for Children Lisa Woolard, whose role at Friday night’s event entailed “pulling off the loser cards” from the big board of tickets, the proceeds from the silent auction will go to Beaufort/Hyde Partnership for Children, an organization that lays the groundwork for success in school and in life for children, newborn to 5 years old.