I still don't think that he started the site with intention to scam. (Yes, I realize the people who get scammed usually rationalize just like this.. "I trusted the site and I'm too smart to get scammed, so it cannot possibly have been a scam."

) The site was quite weak from technical point of view with slow payouts, timeouts with bets... Seemed like it required lot of manual work, but it seemed like he was trying to make it work.
I agree with you...I'm sure he didn't want to take our BTC and run but why not be honest and say you lost the coins? Why come on and say everyone will be paid in 2 weeks and nothing happens? Why log in almost daily without saying something?!?
They might not start off with the intention to scam, but risky investments or business practices might leave them out of pocket somewhere down the line and thus to default on payments might be their only option.