It's a lot of evidence, I talked to Bobby Baldwin who was the president of the Mirage at the time and he didn't indicate what happened was a factor, obviously they booked the matches in subsequent years.The fact that The Mirage continued to stage and book the Challenge of Champions until their contract ran out several years later isn't evidence at all.
The money involved was insubstantial in the context of the handle of a large sports book. The cost of pursuing any legal action could never have been justified given how small the losses were. That said, the lack of motivation to both market and grow the event at The Mirage was quite evident, and it was made crystal clear when they chose not to renew their contract when it expired. The Mirage had no appetite to further their association with pool at the time.
The Mirage softened it's stance eighteen years later by hosting the 2013 Mosconi Cup. The Mosconi is an event that has always been bettable at the UK bookmaking concerns, but, to nobody's surprise, The Mirage took no action on the event. They'd had enough when it came to booking action on pool, and for very obvious reasons.
I'm not sure they even lost money. Casino sports books are triple smart, so for them to make Mike 20/1 in an 8 person tournament was insane. I know a few more factors that makes me suspicious, but it's water under the bridge so I won't open that can of worms.
Even the most naive handicapper in the world would never make the reigning US OPEN Champion 20/1 in an 8 man tournament, with short races.....the US Open was certainly one of the toughest tournaments to win without question. The mysteries of what really happened will never be known by the general public and as far as I'm concerned, it's perfectly fine!
The Game is the Teacher