For what it's worth, a good friend of mine that was the #2 trader on the Deutsche Bank Equity Derivatives Desk took nearly half of the other side of the liquidation of VN's naked S&P futures puts ( ala "Vulture Trade" ) and made $45 million that week for the desk. The puts were incredibly "pumped" with vol and should the market simply go sideways for a day or two a ton of money was to be made selling them. I believe that that was on a Tuesday and the market made a V-Bottom right then and there. Suffice to say, he had a very nice Christmas bonus!