How should CNBC resolve its stock picking contest?

Tim Catts of BusinessWeek writes Tuesday that at least one of the finalists in CNBC’s Million Dollar Portfolio Challenge game now being investigated for alleged improper trading by some of the contestants is asking for the business news cable network to rerun the game.

Gresyon Masters, one of the finalists, wrote a letter to CNBC asking them to kick out those who cheated and play the final round again. Masters says he would have done better if he hadn’t made some risky choices because he felt the need to compete against those who were cheating.

Catts wrote, “His letter raises an important question: How should CNBC resolve the controversy surrounding its stockpicking contest? Because CNBC has said it reserved the right to disqualify any contestant suspected of breaking the contest’s rules, it’s possible the highest-placing finalist not thought to have engaged in suspicious trading will walk away with the $1 million grand prize. According to BusinessWeek‘s analysis, that would likely make Mary Sue Williams, a waitress from St. Clairsville, Ohio, who says she’s never bought or sold a share of real stock, the big winner (see BusinessWeek.com, 6/19/07, “The Million-Dollar Waitress”). Alternatively, CNBC could follow the suggestion of Masters and rerun the entire final round of the contest, giving all 20 finalists another two weeks of competition. Or CNBC could work out yet another alternative to resolving the contest.

“CNBC, a division of General Electric (GE), declined to comment on Masters’ letter and has said it tentatively aims to conclude its probe and announce a winner by July 8. Meanwhile, several other top performers in the CNBC Million Dollar Portfolio Challenge say they believe the contest’s finals were fatally flawed by the alleged cheating of a handful of finalists.”

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