> "it's approximately equivalent to accepting 1 or 2 extra short contracting gigs."

Except:

- You don't have to do the work (you are free to do more work or relax)

- That's one or two gigs every year (until you choose to spend the money)

- The gigs compound: in 9 years, it's 2-4, and in 18, 4-8 per year.

I'm just providing an alternate viewpoint, but I don't disparage your right to play "the lottery" this way. I think that's a perfectly valid basis for a personal investment strategy.

As you pointed out, it might be statistically worse, but you aren't interested in the median return, either.