Slightly OT but I really wonder how much the pool ops have pulled in over time. Like Slush for example, 2% of every block solved at that pool for years. It must be astounding.
Probably not nearly as much as you think. You have to factor in costs and I'm sure server expenses are significant.
How many blocks does Slush's Pool find per day, 12-15?
This is just a wild guess...
15x25x130x.02=$975 less expenses.
So maybe $500 per day. Not a bad job! But its not going to make anyone a millionaire overnight. Now BTCGuild, that's a different story.
In the last 24H 'we' found 18 blocks. So it's a bit more than that.
Still, taking your 500 a day * 365 days... that's some serious dough I'd think.
Plus slush had bigger share few months ago, plus there was double reward few months ago.