I've been noticing that sometimes i would randomly obtain $50 and almost always happens around 5-10 seconds into a match. Does anyone know what event triggers this (blackjack spawn or time based maybe)?
Everyone gets money periodically throughout the match. It comes about every 30 seconds. You are seeing the first payment of that automatic cash.
It would be nice if a player joins late he could get all that additional cash so he is sort of up to par against everyone else if he joins late. Maybe make it so it doesn't count towards their actual earnings though.