I for one was shocked to find a known internet troll chose not to pay nearly $1m in bets to strangers on the internet. There were no early warning signs you could have picked up on to make a risk assessment of the situation.
Real people have lost money on this because after originally losing money on a ponzi scheme they hedged against it by betting with a known troll stranger on the internet. These people are not immature like Matthew, they just know a good deal when they see one!
He wasn't that known as an internet troll though, at least not to many around here. He used his former position as cofounder and CEO in some rather high-profile Bitcoin initiatives to give an impression of trustworthiness. This is why this particular scam is no joking matter.