Mathematically, risk-neutrality implies an utility that is linear on wealth, while risk-aversion implies an utility concave on wealth. Economists typically assume that individuals are risk averse, Cherry Charm and that this risk aversion decreases with wealth (the more wealth someone is, the more risk he is willing to take). The expectation argument does make sense, but for a specific type of risk aversion (risk-neutral utilities). Progressive jackpots have the potential to make anyone a millionaire in an instant. Again, there is no way of answering whether he should play this gamble or not without imposing more structure in the problem (the preferences of the agent). As I said, to analyze this better from an individual point of view you would need to impose more structure. This does not prevent you from conducting transactions between various accounts, however, you’ll need to choose alternative methods for direct payments to the casino.