The fact that he won the bet isn't a good reason for any one to try such because you may not be lucky enough because gambling is a thing of luck, you have no form of certainty as to what the outcome can always be but if you are lucky then you shouldn't think it will always be that way, using your life savings is too risky for a decent kind of risk especially for a thing like this that comes with so much of uncertainties.
You're absolutely correct, that's too much a risk for a gambler to take. These are the exact things that leads to depression and frustration, just imagine the odds at that time were against him and he lost everything, all his life savings in just a twinkle of an eye, imagine the kindof depression the fellow would have landed himself into, it would have been unbearable for some gamblers, and it could result to several decisions that'd affect you negatively at that moment.
We've heard people taking their lives and doing some crazy stuffs just because of gambling, this could be the birth of such actions.
Gambling isn't a do or die, it's not a way to multiply your wealth, but something you do for recreational purpose, that way you regulate your gambling habit and manage your risks to avoid falling into deep shits.