Can some one explain why they did this? Is it so that the fish who play these can be statisfied when they finish in 194th and make $3.88? If you're playing a small MTT, shouldn't you always aim for the top 5? Its really the same to me if I make those $4 or bust out in the first hour.

It seems to me that bigger tournaments like the Sunday 500K should have a flatter pay out structure. A lot of people satillite into those. The first place for the 500k usually pays like $130K, so they should make it $120K and pay more people at the bottom. That rewards the 4 hrs it took to get to the money with at least an extra few hundred dollars. (of course the goal is to make the real money at the FT, but if you dont make it heres a consolation prize of $500)