I know this is zero consolation for the guys that are owed the money but I still can't get over the fact of how much his life must suck. I can't even imagine being in a situation where you can't find a way to even make a payment plan for this relatively small amount of money.
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This is grasping at straws but could this be one of those things were he was a degenerate gambler in the past, recovered and promised his wife never to do any gambling again? So instead of this being about the money, it is about the shame of having to tell his wife he lost the money?
Yeah, grasping here.............