I'm giving 100% ROI away to anyone who thinks pirate is a fraud

[nimda]

A: Because I think this thread is good for the community. The more people that bet in this thread, the better off the community is, and I thus benefit indirectly as a member of the community.

I strongly disagree with you there. Matthew is involved in several projects, if he loses 2000+BTC (just with the bets thus far) it won't help his credibility nor his finances. I wish he didn't do it or at least that he limited it more.

That's a valid standpoint

It would make the same point if he just risked 500 or 1000 BTC.

Putting a penny where your mouth is means nothing, even if it was the heads-up lucky penny you found on the sidewalk.

Almost all "vocal" people against Pirateat40 have already placed their bets, what's the point now?

Almost nobody vocal against pirate placed bets outside of this thread. Many have yet to place any bets, period (Micon?). The point now is to give people something to back their libel up with.

 BTW, you are a scammer and a ponzi scheme operator. You're likely a convicted 419-er.

[muyuu]

Almost nobody vocal against pirate placed bets outside of this thread. Many have yet to place any bets, period (Micon?). The point now is to give people something to back their libel up with.

Micon placed a max bet twice. Once when it was 100 and now again at 250.

I think this has only proved they actually meant it. Matthew challenged them and they took the challenge. The fact that not all of them have funds to up the bet much more doesn't change anything.

With that point lost already, it's only BTC that he can possibly win. The perception that he's prone to reckless behaviour is on the rise. Not a good thing for someone running businesses.

[nimda]

Almost nobody vocal against pirate placed bets outside of this thread. Many have yet to place any bets, period (Micon?). The point now is to give people something to back their libel up with.

Micon placed a max bet twice. Once when it was 100 and now again at 250.

In any case, that means this thread accomplished something. Again, almost nobody vocal against pirate placed bets outside of this thread.

I think this has only proved they actually meant it. Matthew challenged them and they took the challenge. The fact that not all of them have funds to up the bet much more doesn't change anything.

I respect the ones who have made bets on it. If you are going to trash the forum with 50+ threads screaming "PONZI!!!1" then you had better mean it.

With that point lost already, it's only BTC that he can possibly win. The perception that he's prone to reckless behaviour is on the rise. Not a good thing for someone running businesses.

He's stated that his capital and his businesses' capital are separate. I for one welcome the chance to offer ponzi-criers "free money" -- it's quite fun.

[Matthew N. Wright]

I think this has only proved they actually meant it.

I agree.

The fact that not all of them have funds to up the bet much more doesn't change anything.

Also agreed, and its the reason why I allow bets as low as 0.1BTC. I want everyone to have the chance to back up what they say with an amount that is a maximum allowable bet to them personally. If someone only has 1BTC, I wouldn't want them to bet it. Betting 0.1BTC would be sufficient and would mean quite a lot considering how much that person has.

With that point lost already, it's only BTC that he can possibly win.

The point is far from lost, it's not not going to be made until this is over. When people lose because they were too proud to admit they didn't know for sure if it was a ponzi or not, then those people will be more careful next time. It's going to serve it's purpose very well. And if I lose, then I'll have learned a valuable lesson as well (I also enjoy entertaining the community).

The perception that he's prone to reckless behaviour is on the rise.

You must not know me very well.

[sgravina]

Wow.  Now that the max bet is 250 BTC I can use it to hedge my losses.  If I bet 250 then if Pirate pays I will come out with a 5 BTC profit from my PPT bonds.  If pirate defaults the 250 BTC will almost make up my losses, I'll be down 64 BTC instead of 314.

But I don't have the 250 BTC now.  It would take me 5 weeks to earn that much via mining (except for a few coins in PPTs I've been selling as I mine).  Of course I can spend $2,500 to cover the bet.

Unfortunately I believe that pirate will pay.  Mainly because that is what I would do.  My rational side says take the bet.  It turns a very risky play into an almost no risk play.  Could someone else please do this because I'm going for the 255 BTC gain I will get when pirate pays.  I'd like to see someone else do the rational thing.

Also just the existence of this bet indicates some serious opinion that pirate will pay.  And there is the risk that this bet itself is bogus.

But ultimately whether pirate pays or not I am still doomed.  People my age only have 30 years to live.

Sam

[muyuu]

Define "running"? I'm Editor-in-Chief of a magazine for starters. Is that the same thing as "Running a business"? You're starting to lean towards FUD, and that's what this thread was started to avoid. If you'd like to make a claim, I'll be happy to meet it with a wager or you can start asking questions instead of making claims altogether and the whole community will be better off for it! 

You list yourself as CEO and cofounder of a number of projects. I take your word for it. I wouldn't bet for or against it, but if nobody calls you out on that I'm assuming it's not bollocks.

[ThePok]

2BTC
1Ca3c4Ddu6aAg9KFRXvfb4CfPNK1wJcK7D
Iam the one from IRC

I want to incrase my bet from 2 to 5 btc!

5BTC
1Ca3c4Ddu6aAg9KFRXvfb4CfPNK1wJcK7D
dito

[dust]

I would like to advise everyone in this thread to not bet with Matthew UNLESS YOU BOTH ESCROW

I made my bet without an escrow, so I might get scammed, but you shouldn't.  DEMAND AN ESCROW OR DO NOT BET

[FreeMoney]

A: Because I think this thread is good for the community. The more people that bet in this thread, the better off the community is, and I thus benefit indirectly as a member of the community.

I disagree. I think all this betting is divisive, and causing the Bitcoin community to fragment. If MNW loses and is forced to pay out it will be like crucifying a productive member of the community just to prove some point.

We need to remember that as a community our real enemies are forex fees, Paypal, inflation and wire transfer fees. We should be focusing on that, not on the ponzi/no ponzi squabbling. Bitcoin is not a HYIP and should not be associated with them to this degree.

He's a big boy, he'll take it well I'm sure.

[Vladimir]

Define "running"? I'm Editor-in-Chief of a magazine for starters. Is that the same thing as "Running a business"? You're starting to lean towards FUD, and that's what this thread was started to avoid. If you'd like to make a claim, I'll be happy to meet it with a wager or you can start asking questions instead of making claims altogether and the whole community will be better off for it!  

You list yourself as CEO and cofounder of a number of projects. I take your word for it. I wouldn't bet for or against it, but if nobody calls you out on that I'm assuming it's not bollocks.

Do not worry. I am involved in some of those projects and I'll strangle him as needed to keep things sane where it matters.

[RoloTonyBrownTown]

I would like to advise everyone in this thread to not bet with Matthew UNLESS YOU BOTH ESCROW

I made my bet without an escrow, so I might get scammed, but you shouldn't.  DEMAND AN ESCROW OR DO NOT BET

[Matthew N. Wright]

2BTC
1Ca3c4Ddu6aAg9KFRXvfb4CfPNK1wJcK7D
Iam the one from IRC

I want to incrase my bet from 2 to 5 btc!

5BTC
1Ca3c4Ddu6aAg9KFRXvfb4CfPNK1wJcK7D
dito

Acknowledged.

[muyuu]

Wow.  Now that the max bet is 250 BTC I can use it to hedge my losses.  If I bet 250 then if Pirate pays I will come out with a 5 BTC profit from my PPT bonds.  If pirate defaults the 250 BTC will almost make up my losses, I'll be down 64 BTC instead of 314.

But I don't have the 250 BTC now.  It would take me 5 weeks to earn that much via mining (except for a few coins in PPTs I've been selling as I mine).  Of course I can spend $2,500 to cover the bet.

Unfortunately I believe that pirate will pay.  Mainly because that is what I would do.  My rational side says take the bet.  It turns a very risky play into an almost no risk play.  Could someone else please do this because I'm going for the 255 BTC gain I will get when pirate pays.  I'd like to see someone else do the rational thing.

Also just the existence of this bet indicates some serious opinion that pirate will pay.  And there is the risk that this bet itself is bogus.

But ultimately whether pirate pays or not I am still doomed.  People my age only have 30 years to live.

Sam

You don't have to bet the full amount.

Also, take into account the forum admin took the bet

If it's for hedging I don't think it's a bad thing actually.  

[FreeMoney]

I would like to advise everyone in this thread to not bet with Matthew UNLESS YOU BOTH ESCROW

I made my bet without an escrow, so I might get scammed, but you shouldn't.  DEMAND AN ESCROW OR DO NOT BET

Oh, look, someone looking out for everyone else.

Want to bet me that this bet gets paid?

[dust]

I would like to advise everyone in this thread to not bet with Matthew UNLESS YOU BOTH ESCROW

I made my bet without an escrow, so I might get scammed, but you shouldn't.  DEMAND AN ESCROW OR DO NOT BET

I'm not sure what that means but I will make the same bet with you (with escrow of course) to prove I'm not just trying to dodge the bet.  This is on top of my bet with Matthew.

[nimda]

With that point lost already, it's only BTC that he can possibly win.

The point is far from lost, it's not not going to be made until this is over. When people lose because they were too proud to admit they didn't know for sure if it was a ponzi or not, then those people will be more careful next time. It's going to serve it's purpose very well. And if I lose, then I'll have learned a valuable lesson as well (I also enjoy entertaining the community).

Matthew, I know a lot of people have you on ignore, but I for one love the entertainment you provide

Now go make some BS loans to your sock-puppets.

[nimda]

I would like to advise everyone in this thread to not bet with Matthew UNLESS YOU BOTH ESCROW

I made my bet without an escrow, so I might get scammed, but you shouldn't.  DEMAND AN ESCROW OR DO NOT BET

Oh, look, someone looking out for everyone else.

Want to bet me that this bet gets paid?

I'm willing to either:
Escrow the above bold bet
 or
Take part in FreeMoney's side of the above bold bet.

[RoloTonyBrownTown]

Define "running"? I'm Editor-in-Chief of a magazine for starters. Is that the same thing as "Running a business"? You're starting to lean towards FUD, and that's what this thread was started to avoid. If you'd like to make a claim, I'll be happy to meet it with a wager or you can start asking questions instead of making claims altogether and the whole community will be better off for it! 

You list yourself as CEO and cofounder of a number of projects. I take your word for it. I wouldn't bet for or against it, but if nobody calls you out on that I'm assuming it's not bollocks.

Do not worry. I am involved in some of those projects and I'll strangle him as needed to keep things sane where it matters.

Meh, you're not willing to back up your big words.  Who cares what you have to say.

"Oooh, but I don't gamble!"

It's not gambling if it's 100% sure thing, is it Vlad.

[nimda]

agreed, and its the reason why I allow bets as low as 0.1BTC. I want everyone to have the chance to back up what they say with an amount that is a maximum allowable bet to them personally. If someone only has 1BTC, I wouldn't want them to bet it. Betting 0.1BTC would be sufficient and would mean quite a lot considering how much that person has.

In that spirit, I'll proxy bets as low as 1 satoshi

[dreamwatcher]

As much as I would like this whole situation to correct itself, it look likes a duck..........
I would have given Pirate the benefit of the doubt if ANY effort to start returning coins occurred Monday+, but it does not look good.
As I see this opportunity as to make a point, rather than making coin:

I would like to bet 5 BTC, and if when payout occurs, I just want the 10 BTC to be sent to the forum's donation address in my name (thus becoming a donor).

5 BTC
17RTTUAiiPqUTKtEggJPec8RxLMi2n9EZ9
(Forum's donation address)

It is a small bet, and I have had some dealings here. In it for the point, and obliviously not the coin.