Jamie Gold's mistake in WSOP 2006

[spintronics929]

Going into heads-up play, Gold had a commanding chip lead over Wasicka. Gold probably also knew that half of his prize money would go to Crispin Leyser, based on a prior agreement between them before the tournament. With Gold winning the tournament, allocation of the 1st and the 2nd prize money would look as follows:

Gold: 6 million
Wasicka: 6 million
Leyser: 6 million

Now, what would have happened if Gold struck a deal with Wasicka that would have given Wasicka the match? Then we would have a distribution that looks something like this.

Gold: 3 million
Wasicka: 12 million
Leyser: 3 million

But Gold could have struck a deal w/ Wasicka such that in exchange for the match, Wasicka would have needed to pay him an amount somewhere between 3 and 6 million dollars. Then the distribution looks something like this.

Gold: 6 to 9 million dollars
Wasicka: 6 to 9 million dollars
Leyser: 3 million dollars

It seems obvious to me that just going strictly by these numbers, striking a deal w/ Wasicka would have been the best move at the point. Any thoughts?