Quite to the contrary, it means that the pirate can no longer pay out 7% to those on auto-payout of their interest. The auto-payouts are eating into his stash. It is a sign that the Ponzi scheme is nearing its end.

Also, 7% is too big an incentive for more of the early takers to go to auto-payout, once they feel that they have accumulated enough wealth.

The downside of his gamble is that lowering the rate may also make some "investors" withdraw right now. If that happened, then it would be over next week.

Not to mention that pirateat40 instantly loses his Vandroiy bet if he does not announce the interest rate change 30 days in advance. But he doesn't even think about that, because he has already written off the bet he never intended to win.