From what I can tell it was a hoax and Michael did not realize the consequences of what happened.
I realize this might have pissed some people off, but I think the lesson was learned on his end, and there is no point in dragging this out.
I was personally a little confused with the humor. After I saw the news about GPWA buying out Bodog, I sort of ignored the news section after as I was not sure what was real or not anymore.
Either way, I think the best approach would be to meet up in person, sit down, and have a beer, its too easy to misunderstand one another and the context of what is said over the internet.