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Hahaha. If you ask me, if those two were my friends I would get two pairs of boxing gloves and tell them to bet for themselves and have a boxing match until the other man surrenders.
It's actually a very laughable situation because why would anyone ask for some of his/her money back if he/she lost the bet? The lesson there is simply - Don't gamble if you're afraid to lose some money.
I think that's exactly the problem here, someone gambled with money they couldn't afford to lose... and when they lost it the crying started. I also think that you have a good proposition here, every problem has a solution, so a boxing match doesn't sound like a bad idea in this case.
The lesson of this story should be that it is not wise to gamble with close friends, some would say that it's also not wise to lend money to friends... that is how friends are lost. I know from experience that this can be very true, of course, there are exceptions and responsible people and friends, but some are difficult and they show their real face in situations where money is involved, especially with some serious amounts.