The prize the first winner won has a significant value. Assuming that this gambler has lost 1% of the wagering amount, he has won a big profit.
I expected much more wagering amount to be needed to win the first place. Because in the latest 3-day contest, the first winner had wagered 14 BTC. This was a 4-day contest and I expected even higher amounts.
It is really not that important because the top one is spending so much money to be the top one, rodolman has won before and he knows that if you want to beat the opponents then you need to not only gamble a lot but also you need to make sure the others are not close to you.
The difference being too close kinda means to me that others didn't really go for the top place, if rodolman wanted to we know he could make 10+ btc easily, he has done that before and he could do it again, he has that kinda cash, now he doesn't have to, nobody has to but if they want the first place that is kinda the requirement, so you either do it or you don't. If you leave it to gods at the last second then you need to accept the fact that you may not be the first one at this competition, we now have our third different winner in 5-6 competitions, good parity.