> it very quickly devolves into a situation where two players have a decent chance to win, everyone else is royally screwed, and the game still has about an hou

> it very quickly devolves into a situation where two players have a decent chance to win, everyone else is royally screwed, and the game still has about an hour to go. In that situation you can play the two big players off against each other. Offer a deal with Big Player 1 that benefits you (e.g. allowing you to get a group) and tell him that if he refuses, you'll sell all your assets to Big Player 2 for $1.