[MrMon]

I think you're all looking at this in the wrong way. It's more of a strategic move by Gold to save some money by throwing FUD into the mixture.

Look at it this way. You make an oral promise to share 50% of your winnings with a backer. Suddenly, you win a lot more than you thought you would, $12 million. You owe the guy $6 million. But, if you can somehow reduce that, by whatever means, that's a pretty handsome payday. It's an oral agreement, you can claim all sorts of things about terms, conditions, even the existence of the agreement. Gum up the works, and hope the guy makes a deal. If it works, you could save a million or two. If it doesn't, you lose a couple hundred thousand in legal fees.

Sure, you're a douche, and hated by a lot of people, but as a bet, isn't getting 10x on your money a pretty good play? Especially if the endorsement stuff means nothing to you, as you'd rather not do it. People in losing positions do this in business all the time.