it may well leave most of them destitute but a few of them free. which, ex ante, they may reasonably view as better than all of them destitute with notionally higher but still fully insufficient bank balances. 1/

if u have a $1000 + your kid is held for ransom for $30K today, there is no means of borrowing or sourcing a gift, and the kidnappers mean it, putting it all on one number on the roulette wheel is perfectly rational, even though it is a terrible bet and almost certainly you’ll lose everything. /fin