I fully agree with this simple observation.  If you have below $1M in your pocket, then there is no point to pay more than $1K for the game unless you are a gambler because probability of win is low (not expected value but probability) even with multiple runs. On the other hand if I had $2M spare money, then I would happily invest $1K in each of 1000 runs even if casino only had $10M in the bank. I would not spend $1M for a single run.