Has your poker success ever caused a friend to ask for $$$?

[Mempho]

I'm not talking about 5 bucks here...or even a hundrud...I'm talking about 4 digits here. Poker player or not...that's still a lot of money for me. I had a very good friend, a roommate from college, get into some serious legal trouble. He needs lots of money...so much that I can't even make a large dent in it even if I give him as much as I can reasonbly give him without causing myself a serious change in lifestyle. So, in a way, I feel like Knish in Rounders saying, "If I give [it] to you, what's that buy you, a day? I feel like I'm wastin' it."

I would normally never consider giving money to anyone in such a large amount to someone...but the guy is like a brother to me. At the same time, if I really can't help his defense significantly and he goes to jail, I'm wasting my money. I know he'll pay me back slowly over time as he can but he's doesn't have the income I do...also, I wouldn't want to be pressing him all the time for the money like a bill collector. He said he would pay me a high interest rate to make sure that "I was taken care of for helping him" but I assume the interest rate is commiserate with the risk.

Have any of you had any similar situations happen since you have become well-known locally and with your friends as a poker success? How would you deal with the situation.

I told him that I would make no promises that I couldn't keep so that I wanted to think about it.