Yes, I got rid of my original loser as soon as I was able to get 2 gladiators. The slaves are better than the starters. You will naturally get more loot for selling a higher ranking gladiator. And yes, you will get even more loot keeping a loser around and using him to get better gold from the tavern. So if you want more money, keep the beginner and let him rack up losses....and of course die like a fly all the time, in which case he is costing you more to resurrect than he is bringing in going on missions....Ive seen some decent slaves who cost close to 1k, but havent seen any with outstanding stats. Also, I asked Nate if the slaves got any better as you forked out tokens to look at new ones...the answer to that question is no.

So I guess my answer to the question is ditch the loser...fork out loot and get a winner.