Sounds like the winner of that Satellite got screwed by the organizer. $200 buy in and 105 players is $21,000 in prize money. The main event has a $10,000 buy in. Several others have $10,000 buy ins, but most range from $2K to $5K. Where did the other $11,000 go?
I expect the total take was somewhere around $35K. However, there was also the cost of renting the convention center, a hosted bar, a staff of about 15 (dealers, servers, etc.), and a catered dinner featuring shrimp and prime rib. All in all, it was a very nice event and a lot of fun. I don't mind that somebody made money from putting it all together.