Optimize Google Places 2012 - A List of Suggestions for Google - Part 2 - Ranking???

I spend a huge amount of my time trying to understand Google Places.  I have been doing this for 4 years, basically at the start of the internet switch to local.  I read everything I can.  I have Google alerts set for Google Places.  I experiment and help folks to get better ranking.  If you apply everything I say in this blog, you will almost certainly be highly ranked.

HOWEVER, I can show you hundreds of examples of companies that are ranked #1 and they have not even claimed their site.  They are outranking listings that are claimed, 100% filled out, have no inappropriate content, tons of reviews, and citations from 100's of sources.  This is hard to understand, Google!  Surely you can change your algo back to more like 2010 when ranking seemed to correlate to claiming, getting reviews, etc.

Here is an unclaimed place with no reviews.  Note below how he ranks above the claimed listing with great reviews.

 

Do you agree?  Or am I overreacting?