I think it probably has more to do with them living through the Great Depression and WWII. I don't know why living in better economic times would have made them less cautious.
I'm not sure how you got less cautious from my comment. In fact I was saying the opposite, that they viewed gambling as a pastime or entertainment, not as a legitimate way to make money. It's when a person considers it a means of getting out of a financial tight spot that they start to make ridiculous and dangerous bets.
