Bottom line in the new system is even if you get lucky, best you can do is trade off, or hold one for a day. Where you have multiple guilds bidding, you sometimes have to let one go to hold another. It will, or has, settled out to the same as if the cities were limited, and you just handed half to the other side. I can't think of any way to regain them, if guilds are close in power. Barring a total mess up, of course.