I've stayed on the sidelines for a few weeks now, waiting, and hoping Chong would reach out to the participants here and make things right. The sale of his Land Area is his story to tell, not mine. He hasn't said anything yet, and I'm beginning to think he never will. Enough time had passed that I think it's right if I clear the air on some of the questions brought up. Normally, I would never discuss LA acquisition details in public, however, given the circumstances, I will share some of the details here with you. I hope in some way they're helpful:
- Chong reached out to me with an in game PM sometime around Christmas or early January, offering me his land. I did not initiate the contact to buy OLA#21
[*]I was told there were two other current Land Area owners who Chong had been dealing with before PM'ing me, he said in December they had both verbally offered to buy OLA#21 for his asking price, but those other LA owners needed some time to gather funds. Chong told me he hadn't accepted either of their offers yet because he wanted to sell it sooner than they were able to get the funds together. He told me if I could provide him the same amount of funds he was being offered by the other two Land Area owners, he preferred to see the land go to me. It's possible that he was making this part up about the other interested parties to bait me into acting fast, but, it's already been confirmed here in this thread that apparently he was trying to sell OLA#21 several months before PM'ing me, so I do not doubt his claim
[*]Before we closed the deal I asked Chong what his plans were to handle his event. He mentioned he was considering giving an armor set to one of the participants. In my naivety, I assumed he would follow through and take care of you guys. I never imagined he would stiff anyone
[*]I paid for 100% of the sale price of OLA#21 with pure PEDs in game, through the trade window. Chong would have had all of the money on his PED card after the deal
[*]I have in no way involved myself in any sort of collusion to defraud Chong's event participants out of the taxes he owes them. His Entropia account and bank account are wholly separate from mine. We are in no way connected with each other outside of the game or this land deal. This was an in game, final trade between an interested seller and an interested buyer
[*]I submitted a support case to MA several weeks ago regarding this event, notifying MA of this situation involving Chong and his lack of communication about paying you guys a tax refund. Like all of you, I was notified that MA is aware of the situation but could not share details with me
I am not here to bad mouth Chong. I am here to present facts, and my side of the acquisition story. In my dealings with him over the past year or so, he has always struck me as an honest individual. I really believed he would announce the sale, contact you guys, and make things right. I'm surprised he hasn't done any of that yet. Although, as time goes on I am quickly losing hope he will. I recently heard from some of his friends that were on his friend's list for years, that he removed them. According to the in game friend center, he has not been online since the deal between us took place. For all intents and purposes, it would appear as if he's unplugged himself from Entropia for now.
My view differs with a few here that have expressed their belief that I am responsible for compensating people from his event. And, that's okay, we can see things differently, and we can disagree. I believe an event held by any Land Area owner and their participants is a social contract, held together by trust. That trust is between the participant and the owner. The owner receives a tax benefit from those grinding on their Land Areas, and in my mind is obligated to follow through on their end and make things right with their participants. If a Land Area owner breaks that trust, the success of their future events and personal reputation declines. EU is a tight knit community, and word travels fast. Apart from that, it's just plain the right thing to do.
I also believe Land Area events by default do not transfer in the sale of a land, nor the liability to compensate that event, unless explicitly stated and agreed to beforehand. If I had personally received any of the taxes from the people grinding his Land Area, you better believe I would be paying out the participants, as that's the right thing to do. I received 0 taxes from the participants here, all of the tax went to Chong. Chong and I had no such agreement for his event liability transfer.
Some of you have expressed a disinterest in competing in future events on OLA#21, I hear you, and I don't fault you, your frustration is legitimate. The situation of not knowing if Chong will ever compensate those here probably creates a pretty terrible feeling. I'm sorry guys. Please don't get the wrong idea, I'm not here to convince you otherwise or encourage you to join in on my events, that's not important. I just wanted to let you know that Chong was given PED, and he would have the means to make amends with you if he decided to do so. There wasn't any collusion between me and Chong to defraud anyone here, I'm honestly shocked Chong hasn't said anything to anyone in almost a month either in game or on here.
Hindsight is always 20/20 guys, and I'm telling you that if I knew Chong would disappear and not pay you all out your taxes, like I know now, I would not have made the deal I did with him. I'm sorry things have played out this way for you guys, I feel awful for those of you who had put time and effort and trust into Chong, and now you're left hanging. I wish it weren't so.
I genuinely hope MA will contact Chong, and strongly encourage him to make amends with his participants, and refund you guys for your efforts.