Ok, I've created a bitcointalk account just to post on this thread, and I have a few things to say.
I've been reading this thread for ages, but some of the things stated recently have annoyed me enough to actually post for once.
My story is that I invested a lot in Pocket Rockets back in the day and it did really well. I found the site to be professional and run honestly. When I went to withdraw large amounts of BTC, a lot of which was profit, it withdrew successfully and on time. If it had been an exit scam or something like that, I wouldn't have expected my profits to come back.
When BetKing's ICO came along, which happened not long after the BTC bubble popped, I went back in with maybe 33% of the profit I had made through Pocket Rockets. There were a few changes from BKB to BKT etc, and it is clear that both BKB and BKT never managed to gain any meaningful market value. The big betters who had made Pocket Rockets so profitable had gone.
I saw over this period that Dean worked on many different ideas, but nothing seemed to work. This very forum started and due to JollyGood's constant bumping and perhaps some SEO magic, this forum became one of the top hits for BetKing.io, which has had a real impact on new user traffic.
I previously felt and I still feel that if Dean were a scammer, he would have left long ago. There is nobody helping him, there are only people criticizing him.
I acknowledge that my hoard of BKT and BKB is now worthless. I don't feel too bad about this, because technically this is money is 33% of the profits that Pocket Rockets made for me, so I'm still ahead. The only value it has at this stage is in the obligation that Dean feels to pay everyone back. By that, I mean, my best chance of making any money back from BKT and BKB is through Dean's efforts to make everyone whole. If Dean goes away, I get nothing back. If BKT and BKB are floated again for sale on an exchange, I get nothing. So, although very optimistic, it is in my best interests to take Dean at his word and encourage him to continue to make other sites to try and make everyone whole. In my dealings with him, I've found him to be honest, and I do believe the whole BKT and BKB thing is not malicious, it is just poorly planned, plus some unfortunate luck.
I do feel for the people who invested into BKB or BKT from scratch and did not have the benefit of being involved in Pocket Rockets earlier. Those people have seen their investment pretty much wiped out. Same goes for people who invested more than their profit from Pocket Rockets.
Finally, talking about some of the folks on this forum.
RHavar - You're the reason why I posted. You said in one of your messages that it is scammy that Dean is creating other sites and not telling the investors the names of the sites. Well of course he is!!! If he were to tell everyone the name of the new sites (Which he is using to try and make everyone whole), the moment this forum caught a whiff of the name, they would run it straight into the ground. Of course he is keeping the names secret! Damned if you do and damned if you don't... what, exactly is he meant to do? And don't give me that whole "Dean should pay everyone from the massive hoard of funds he has scammed"... I saw the bankroll at the time, it was nothing like the figures that are being quoted in this thread.
and finally....
JollyGood - I don't get it. There is some part of your story that I'm not understanding. Why are you spending such an extraordinary amount of time and effort running this particular site into the ground? You've won, mate. Its traffic has been run into the ground because of this very forum, you don't need to do any more. Can you let up and give me a chance of making my investment back please? What's the story? I don't understand why you are doing this. Is it because you were an investor and lost money? Are you running a competing site? I genuinely want to know what is motivating you to spend so much effort on this campaign.
That's my story, thanks for reading.
I will answer your question but will not read your reply because I have added you to my IGNORE list because you seem to have nothing negative to say about serial scammer Dean Nolan yet you (as a newbie) are using the same language the he spouted all along.
My interest in the betking scam started when I saw the ICO thread in 2017. At that time I went to the forum and made numerous posts about it being a scam which would unfold sooner or later. I gave my reasons back then approximately 2 years and 4 months ago. Eventually, in the end betking is dead but not because of an alleged hack/theft but because of serial scammer Dean Nolan wanting to pocket free cash and blaming it on a hack.
I am waiting for solid conclusion from victims of the betking scam to come forward so a plan can be made to sue that imbecile thief serial scammer Dean Nolan. Several victims have been in touch, we are communicating and if we agree a way forward there is no doubt serial scammer Dean Nolan will be interviewed by Scotland Police officers (Sheriff).
I will donate money to help pay for a lawyer and will personally provide any assistance to the victims when their legal team will serve litigation on serial scammer Dean Nolan at his home address but that will only happen after the Police interview him on charges of fraud and in the unlikely circumstances they do not press charges.
This forum and its users are not to blame for the demise of betking. The person to blame for its demise is serial scammer Dean Nolan.
Users from the forum did not create and conduct the 2017 betking ICO
Users from the forum did not receive $6.5 million in the 2017 ICO (more than 1000 BTC, 4500 ETH and 850 LTC)
Users from the forum did not steal a minimum of 30 million BKB from the 100 million BKB created in the ICO
Users from the forum did not steal $3+ million from the $6.5 million raised in the 2017 betking ICO
Users from the forum did not siphon-off BKB tokens under the guise of paying for the website upkeep
Users from the forum did not break every promise the ICO was based on. No new games, no development, no marketing team, no customer services team, nothing
Users from the forum did not steal over 500 BTC and over 2250 ETH and over 425 LTC from the bankroll to buy back tokens leaving the $3.25 million bankroll near empty
Users from the forum did not promise to keep 50% of the ICO funds exclusively for the bankroll - only to renege thus making betking worth next to nothing
Users from the forum did not promise to use 50% of all funds for "marketing, promotions, SEO, design development, server costs and legal" only to siphon-off those funds
Users from the forum did not guarantee a BKB minimum buy-back rate of $0.09286 + any profit, only to renege
Users from the forum did not scam winners of the 2018 Christmas wager which left legitimate winners out of pocket to the tune of 20 BTC +EV, blaming imaginary "cheating"
Users from the forum did not steal the Crash gaming code which would have cost a licence fee of 2 BTC payable to its rightful owner (devans)
Users from the forum did not try to sell betking and failed on several occasions after the ICO
Users from the forum did not try to convert BKB tokens to "bitsafe" tokens by closing down betking and opening "bitsafe" exchange hoping to raise $10 million from another scam ICO
Users from the forum did not lie to RHavar with the aim of try to dupe him in to buying large scale BKB when betking was sinking
Users from the forum did not convert BKB tokens to EOS BKT tokens and add more ownership to serial scammer Dean Nolan
Users from the forum did not shut down the betking Telegram which was a move to stop investors talking to each other after talk of possible legal action began going around
Users from the forum did not claim they lost approximately 50 BTC or $400,000 of investors money by conveniently blaming an imaginary website hack
Users from the forum did not allegedly (and conveniently) transfer 50+ BTC from a cold wallet to a hot wallet just before the imaginary website hack took place
The fault for the demise of the betking website is firmly with serial scammer Dean Nolan. His initial greed to get rich followed by his out-and-out theft of investor funds make him a criminal waiting to be arrested.
He can look back with nostalgia at his once mighty empire which brought in funding from gullible investors after they were warned by many people not to trust serial scammer Dean Nolan because his motives for the 2017 ICO were driven by out-and-out greed. Add immaturity, ignorance, arrogance and lack of business acumen to the mix then it was always going to end in disaster.
It was just over 2 years ago the ICO ended and gave him access to funds beyond his imagination. Greed was always going to get the better of him. The following was raised in the 2017 betking ICO and as of yet the full scale of his scam and theft cannot calculated but a minimum of $2.784 million can be traced back as being stolen by serial scammer Dean Nolan:
BTC - 1,046.60623396 ($4,811,039.536)
ETH - 4619.11055426 ($1,622,277.817)
LTC - 856.08369263 ($67,211.1307083813)
Total Raised - $6,500,528.48
BKB minimum guaranteed quarterly buy-back price - $0.09286
If you want my opinion, it is likely to me you are Dean, but let's say you are not.
Dean ran a successful site years ago and the truth is just because he was honest then, does not mean he is now. He maybe became desperate after losing millions and desperation turned him into a scammer.
In regards to the ICO: I don't know how bitter you can be justifiably about the ICO not working out I suppose it is possible a business just does not succeed. At minimum there is an assumption with an investment like that the money COULD be lost. BUT, where the hell did the money go? you're telling me it takes literally MILLIONS of dollars to keep the domain up and shit? No, I dont think so. Even if he used it to live a great life 200k euros a year, he would still theoretically have MILLIONS left. God knows where it went. Oh wait I know... in his pocket?
I am not sure you completely understand that when Betking went down there were 50 btc on the site in the bankroll plus a lot of other currency. But 50 BTC is 400k. That money had ZERO indication it would be lost. In fact, the site stated we were up 22BTC! You cant find losses in the betting log nor were they updated to show in the bankroll +/-. Then the site domain expires and Dean says "whoops, the money is gone we were hacked". Believable? Not to me either.
I am sorry you may not get your investment back, but the truth is us trashing him here likely does not hurt you. Why? Because Dean is a liar. He is trying to say to me "oh dont you want your investment back? youre hurting your chances by flaming me". This is just a mechanism of fear he is trying to instill. Typical scammer. He tries to scare me by trying to say I wont get my investment back by posting here, but that goes off the assumption that he's honest. He is not honest. It would be better to ensure this guy never touches others money again because then people won't get scammed. Im sorry but your investment...likely gone my friend. The greater good is that Dean's projects never hurt another.
Overall you step back and say... what is more likely? Is it more likely Dean is extremely unlucky or is he just untruthful? At this point, I have concluded untruthful. But that is your call.