A jar of 144 marbles is divided equally among a group of marble-players today. If 2 people joined the group in the future, each person would receive 1 marble less. How many people are there in the group today? Choose the correct choice:
A) 12  B) 14  C) 16  D) 18  E) 20

Rationale: "144 = 16 * 9 = 18 * 8 there are 16 people in the group today . the answer is c ."
Answer: C