Don’t they generally have ties to the underworld/extralegal means of reprisals against people who owe them money? So wouldn’t they have acted by now if this were true (even if not “successful”)?

I imagine right now while the spotlight is on him might not be a great time to carry out any kind of revenge. There will be time for that later.

I mean, there are gangsters that play poker, and there are private games run by gangsters (I imagine), but the idea that the poker world is highly entangled with the underworld is pretty outmoded at this point. High level pros like Jungleman aren't going to risk their rep/access to other good games by breaking someones legs, even over a few million. He and his backers have the risk of losers defaulting baked into their EV calculus already when he plays those games.

That's an interesting coincidence... it wouldn't surprise me in the least. Never heard he had a bad losing poker habit, though. Sounds juicy if it comes out.