MrCatPants
Full House
I've run an online Mavens group since the onset of the pandemic - a mix of the game I host and a game I frequently play in. Over time certain players slowed down/dropped off (as been discussed by other Mavens hosts) and so I started taking referred players on a very limited basis.
One long time player (we will call him Biff) referred his brother in law. I was able to talk Biff through various forms of electronic funds transfer and help with set up, but the brother in law is...in the age bracket above the age bracket where new technology no longer comes easily. So he sent Biff a check, and Biff cashed it and transferred the funds. He lost those funds over a few weeks and we did the process again. Brother in law won a little bit, then stopped coming around for a few weeks.
After a few weeks I did my normal thing - check in by email, see if they want to keep playing or if they wanted to cash out. Brother in law said he was busy and would be back soon.
Saw him two or three times over the next month. Then nothing again.
A few weeks later on our game's voice chat, Biff tells me his brother in law had a bad fall and has been in the hospital. Brother in law reportedly said he wouldn't be playing for a while and so asked me to send Biff the funds, and Biff would get them to him.
Account balance is about upper three digits so not a trivial amount. So I sent brother in law an email to confirm the plan. No reply for a week.
Biff just texted me 'reminding' me about the transfer. I mentioned the email and he told me brother in law was back in the ER with complications.
I'd describe my relationship with Biff as "poker friend" - no reason not to trust him, but don't know him all that well overall.
So the question - what would you do in my shoes at this point?
One long time player (we will call him Biff) referred his brother in law. I was able to talk Biff through various forms of electronic funds transfer and help with set up, but the brother in law is...in the age bracket above the age bracket where new technology no longer comes easily. So he sent Biff a check, and Biff cashed it and transferred the funds. He lost those funds over a few weeks and we did the process again. Brother in law won a little bit, then stopped coming around for a few weeks.
After a few weeks I did my normal thing - check in by email, see if they want to keep playing or if they wanted to cash out. Brother in law said he was busy and would be back soon.
Saw him two or three times over the next month. Then nothing again.
A few weeks later on our game's voice chat, Biff tells me his brother in law had a bad fall and has been in the hospital. Brother in law reportedly said he wouldn't be playing for a while and so asked me to send Biff the funds, and Biff would get them to him.
Account balance is about upper three digits so not a trivial amount. So I sent brother in law an email to confirm the plan. No reply for a week.
Biff just texted me 'reminding' me about the transfer. I mentioned the email and he told me brother in law was back in the ER with complications.
I'd describe my relationship with Biff as "poker friend" - no reason not to trust him, but don't know him all that well overall.
So the question - what would you do in my shoes at this point?