Note that the total amount of money, A, doesn't change.....just the distribution of it does
So....this is a "zero-sum" game....the total amts won + total amts lost = 0
7 : 6 : 5
Means that the first person started with (7/18)A
The second (6/18)A = (1/3)A
The third (5/18)A
In the end ⇒ 6 : 5 : 4
The first person ends up with (6/15)A = ( 2/5)A
The second ends up with (5/15)A = (1/3)A
The last ends up wth (4/15)A
Note that the second person breaks even...he starts with (1/3)A and ends up with the same amount
The first person must have won the $12 because (2/5)A > (7/18)A
And the difference between (2/5A - 7/18A) = 1/90A = $12
So.... $12 is 1/90 of the total amount = $1080
So....the first person must have started with (7/18) * 1080 = $420
And he ends up with (2/5) * 1080 = $432
So.....he makes $12
{Which means that since the second person breaks even....the third person must have lost the $12 }