It begins to look like he did abandon. Why else would you be online on bitcointalk and not respond or update in topic or pm.
The idea is good but not sustainable. The only way to make profit with it is throwing it offline after some deposits.
Still to early to assume things like that. The last time I checked when the site was online, the house was in profit although it is not much but atleast it is decent enough for a new site like this.
Even if it turns out to be a scam, I doubt he gonna get much because those deposits made before it goes offline should be only a few dollars
