Super Bowl viewers were treated to a commercial in which two men decide to settle who gets the last Bud Light left in an ice trough by playing the classic rock, paper, scissors game. One guy throws down a paper move while the other throws an actual rock at his opponent’s head, knocking him down. The “winner” grabs the bottle.

This isn’t the only recent example of rock, paper, scissors partnering with beer and rabid competition. Lawrence residents are being handed an opportunity to test their gaming expertise throughout the next few months during a series of rock, paper, scissors tournaments sponsored by Budweiser.

“I think the concept is funny. But once people enter and realize they can win a trip to Las Vegas, and in Las Vegas the prize is $50,000, it stops being a joke then,” says Lindsay Fleumer of O’Malley Beverage of Kansas.

Fleumer is coordinating a 12-week series of tournaments at Lawrence bars – 24 of them – that pit rock, paper, scissors contenders in hand-to-hand combat. This week’s event will occur at Abe & Jake’s Landing, 8 E. Sixth St.

Ryan Lantz, general manager of Abe & Jake’s, admits he likes the idea of playing host to the tournament because of the sheer simplicity of materials needed.

“I mean, it’s rock, paper, scissors. It’s kind of like, ‘Get in line. Whoever is left standing, wins,'” he says.

While Lantz finds the overall concept amusing, he believes there is more to the game than mere chance.

“People do have a certain skill, so to speak,” he says. “It has more to do with being able to read people, like in poker. Just like when playing games growing up with other friends, you kind of get to ‘own them.’ You know what their next move is. I think there is a little bit of skill involved, along with the luck and chance.”

Eight other local venues have already sponsored the rock, paper, scissors tourney, and Fleumer claims the turnout has been strong.

“You’ve got some people who are really enthusiastic. If they come in second place at a tournament, they want to know where the next tournament is and when their next opportunity to compete is going to be,” she says.

Preliminary winners from the 24 various locales will gather at the end of March for a semi-final round to decide which one will get sent to Vegas. One person from these hundreds of regional finalists will be crowned champion on May 13. For some lucky individual, it will likely represent the easiest route to $50,000 ever earned.

“Most games that you’re going to win money or trips from are going to require some amount of skill,” Fleumer says. “And this requires no skill. This is all luck. This could be anybody’s game. You don’t have to be coordinated or good at pool or good at darts. That’s why people get so enthusiastic about it.”