Only an idiot would pay a bookie or loan shark. I'm not saying it's a wise idea to gamble and stiff your bookie, but if you do lose, and you feel your life is threatened, go to the cops. It's basically the poor man's version of chapter 11. lol. It's America in the 21st century. You're too big to fail! Or.. get roughed up by modern day mob wannabes that look like the Growing up Gotti kids. The system is what it us. It's up to you to know how to work it.
These gamblers are typically local guys who like betting. They go to the cops over a debt they can usually just pay the vig on, they're setting themselves up for retaliation. Are they going to up and move far enough away to avoid running into who they owe? And are they willing to risk getting blackballed and not allowed to gamble anymore? Most of them would have to be in really deep, and probably already in some danger, before going to the cops.
