It sounds as if you guys just went on a whim, instead of actually testing your event first?

It also sounds like you guys don't want people to get every single item. I mean, isn't the point of staying up all-night during a game's event to get all the items?

You guys messed up, it's okay. No one is dying about it, not that I know of...
Just relax, sure people are mad, but are they quitting the game? no...

I had hope that there was going to be an actual event this weekend, due to the fact that, 1. There were no leaderboards, and 2. You should have known that the playercount would have affected the event.

The casual players wanted bowls, so it would be easy. The try-hards wanted a skill based event. You tended to neither by removing the competition, and creating a bogus reward system. It's okay though. Live and Learn. Next time, state your ideas and let other people vote which one sounds more appealing.