Basically Michael wants Roth to believe that Michael is slightly dim and just wants to make money with one of his father's oldest "friends".

Similarly Roth wants Michael to believe that Roth doesn't care about Michael's designs on Vegas and Cuba, has forgotten all about Moe Green, and that he is a sickly old man who will die soon and leave everything to Michael.

"When the snows fall and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies but the pack survives."
Winter is Coming

Now this is the Law of the Jungle—as old and as true as the sky; And the wolf that shall keep it may prosper, but the wolf that shall break it must die.
As the creeper that girdles the tree-trunk, the Law runneth forward and back; For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack.