But I don't also want to call him a scammer just yet. I just think he's broke.
It's certainly possible he's broke, but there's no way that happened without him misappropriating funds. Like for him to have no money, it means he managed to lose:
a) His own money [Ok, fine. Who doesn't like hookers and blow, and it's his to waste ]
b) Bankroll investor money [Ok, fine. I'm willing to suspend disbelieve and accept there was a bug in which someone knew the server and won the server seed]
but more dubiously:
c) ICO investor money [wtf, I've run a far bigger site than Deans. There's no way he would've even put a dent in the raised funds, even with its low volumes it should've been turning a mild profit]
and then last, completely unexplainable:
d) Player balance funds [in fact, Dean has yet to even comment on how this is even possible. That's how outrageous it is]
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I knew there was something wrong when Dean kept bugging me to buy his ICO tokens, and I expressed concern about him canceling the buy-backs. Dean kept saying that it was impossible, and I pointed out there could even be external events that made it impossible such as bitcoin price gaping down. Dean then tried to assure me that it was impossible, because he "systems in place" to
automatically sell bitcoin if the price fell such that it would risk his ability to do the buy-backs.
That was the moment I knew there was something seriously wrong. It was clearly bullshit, no one in crypto is going to keep their funds on an exchange with auto-sell orders. Like c'mon. I bit my tongue and politely refused, but I knew there was something brewing and warned a few people to be careful. Then very shortly after, he unilaterally decided to not honor the promised buy-back scheme. There's just no way you can possible spin Dean's actions as anything but scammy to the extreme.
I think the only question is: why? Did he develop a gambling or drug problem and blow everyone's money? Or is he just greedy and sitting on everyone's money?
My guess is he gambled and spent it all away, including player funds. The player balance liability was a relatively low number he *thought* he'd have enough equity with his business to cover in a doomsday scenario where he lost all money (Ex: sell Betking assets, start new businesses). Problem is Dean has *always* massively overrated his worth
*Bare minimum* highly negligent. If he does have the intention of paying back everything though - and Bitsler is a start - I wouldn't label him a scammer. I think he's unethical for sure. I'd love for him to post proof and prove everyone wrong, but his refusal to do so looks terrible. I have to assume, reluctantly, that what he describes did not happen.
I do acknowledge you are highly intelligent and nuanced with your thoughts though so I respect your point of view on this. I was the one who wrote the original post on reddit calling out the ICO for being scummy. Dean has and always will be driven by making a buck. It's his *only* purpose. I think in his mind he believes his reputation is salvageable and his name is worth something. I disagree and think that's dumb, but at the same time it's probably the reason people will - hopefully - be paid back.