I'm not defending neverwin for not paying newhizzle, but....
Some of you have no idea how much crazy debt there is in the poker world. This 70k is a drop in the bucket compared to what some people owe.
Take any full table of high-limit action, and at least 3 of the people are in debt. No joke.
Now, who ends up getting paid, and in what order? This is where the old saying, "The squeaky wheel gets the grease" comes in. If you act cooperative and laid back about getting paid, you won't. If you just sit back and hope the guy will come to you with the money, he won't. Poker debts typically get paid in the following order:
1) People who are physically intimidating
2) People who are owed a moderate amount of money, and are persistent with nagging for it
3) People who are owed a small amount of money, and follow it up to at least some degree
4) People who are owed a large amount of money, and are persistent
5) People who are owed a small amount of money, and are laid back about it
6) People who are owed a moderate amount of money, and are laid back about it
7) People who are owed a large sum of money, and are laid back about it
Unfortunately for Newhouse, he was in category #7 until recently. Now I'd put him in category #4.
Why do small debts get paid back first? Because they're easier to pay. If you owe someone 5k, and can get him off your back by paying him 5k, it's far preferable than paying 5k to someone you owe 70k to. The guy who is owed 70k is unlikely to be pacified by 5k, and even if he is, it won't last long.
When I speak of being "persistent", I mean you make life difficult for the guy who owes you money. You call him every day. You constantly hassle him for the money. You make it known -- without directly threatening him -- that his reputation will be tarnished. That last part is pretty powerful, as the biggest fear of a broke degenerate is a bad "credit rating" amongst his peers.
Newhouse has definitely gotten more aggressive with Dustin lately, which is to his benefit. However, I believe he jumped the gun by posting that inflammatory blog about the situation. By posting that blog, Newhouse essentially shot his load. Everyone knows the story now, and Mark now has nothing to hold over Dustin's head. Had Mark held out a bit longer, I think he could have used the THREAT of the blog to extract money. Now it's too late.
I'm not saying that Newhouse should give up. He shouldn't. However, it might be a bit harder to get the money now than in the pre-blog days.
In any case, if Dustin owes Mark money, which it appears he does, he should pay up. Period. It's the right thing to do, even if Dustin is unhappy with him personally about the blog. Money owed should never be withheld as a result of personal beefs. I would suggest Dustin work out some sort of reasonable payment plan with Mark, where he pays the debt 5 or 10k at a time. That might make things easier on everyone. It's unlikely that Mark will see all 70k at once.
