Moss, who was
dubbed "The Animal" by his secret four-man alliance, bested bearded
24-year-old oil rig salesman Lane "The Beast" Elenburg from Decatur,
Texas. "It makes me think I can do anything," Moss said of advancing
to the finale. Moss dominated by both winning several competitions and forming
bonds with the other houseguests while always staying loyal to The Brigade
alliance, which was formed on the second day in the house. He defeated Elenburg
in the final round of a three-part Head of Household contest, which allowed him
to pick Elenburg to battle against for his four-jury votes. Enzo "The Meow
Meow" Palumbo, a trash-talking 32-year-old insurance adjuster from Bayonne,
N.J., became the seventh member of the jury and cast the deciding vote between
his alliance partners for Moss. Matt "The Brains" Hoffman, a
33-year-old web designer from Elgin, Ill., and the fouth Brigade member who was
earlier ousted, also cast his final vote for Moss. Hoffman, who described
himself as a "diabolical super-genius," caused the most controversy
this season for lying and telling the other contestants that his wife had a
crippling disease called melorheostosis. He said he did it in hopes of securing
"sympathy votes" if he made it to the end of the competition. The
plan backfired when the cast learned the truth. "Make up a lie about your
dog," Elenburg said. "Don't make up a lie about your wife."
Besides the $500,000 prize, Moss may have also won a date with 24-year-old
boutique manager Kristen Bitting from Philadelphia. Moss and Bitting kept their
fling in the house a secret from most of the contestants. Bitting said she
would be open to a relationship with the newly crowned champ, and Moss replied
that he would take her "out to get some pizza."
