Back in May, during a meeting at the St. Regis Hotel in New York, Adelson told Trump he was willing to contribute substantially to the presumptive Republican nominee’s campaign. But no money has been spent yet, in part because a network of pro-Trump super PACs declined to stand aside. Adelson didn’t want to fork over cash that would duplicate those efforts, according to a source close to the casino magnate. During Trump’s deliberations over the vice-presidential pick, Adelson’s allies made clear that he would open the spigot if Gingrich—on whose 2012 presidential campaign Adelson dropped more than $20 million—was the pick, the Adelson ally said.

But the strings-attached offer turned Trump off, according to a Trump confidant. “Trump cannot be bought,” says a Trump ally, who was not authorized to speak on the record. “And he didn’t like the insinuation that [Adelson] has more money than he does.”

Trump was also ambivalent about Gingrich. He appreciated the verbose pol’s taste for rhetorical combat, especially his praise of Trump’s candidacy. But he and his political allies were worried about sharing the spotlight with another outsize personality. Gingrich was keenly aware of the potential downside. “Do you really want a two-pirate ticket?” the former House Speaker mused on Wednesday night.

Gingrich’s glibness wore thin. “Newt is the smartest guy in the world. Just ask him,” says the Trump ally. “He has a tendency to talk down to people above him. That hurt him.”