When people play, they want to make a lot of money quickly and when you put an extra amount that they can win, they don't care much about second or third place. They want first place and to take home a lot of money.
In my opinion, OP is right to only put a prize for First Place, that way people will compete with greater motivation, because they will be seeing $500 and they will know that there is only 1 winner, that is, only the best one wins.
I guess you do not participate in casino contest a lot or maybe you are type of gambler who have decent bankroll so you can beat all competitors in a contest easily and take the prize yourself, that's why you can say that gambler do not care about second or third place.
Imagine if you are an owner of casino and you provide contest with 1 prize only and since the contest started, there is 1 player who is dominating it with a big gap with the other players.
What do you think will be done by other players, will they force themselves to catch the 1st place although the chance is small while they may lose more than the main prize while chasing for the 1st place?
The idea of having several prize is to make the contest more attractive, this will make potential participant not losing hope too early.
I can understand if you are high roller bankroll, so you want 1 prize only but for small bankroll players like me, there will be no interest to join the contest since there is no chance to win something.
We at the BETMODE team have listened to the community’s feedback, and we’re making changes to ensure a more engaging competition for everyone! Instead of a single winner, we will now **distribute prizes among the Top 10 players** to keep the race exciting for all participants.
We appreciate all the feedback from the community, and we hope this new structure makes the contest more competitive and enjoyable for everyone.