Yes, he played it safe, but if you were very low on money, and you were offered $81,000 - it is a lot of money to start building up your bank account again, and he is married, looking for a future. Yes, if he stayed one more round, it would of been more money, but I have seen a number of episodes that it went the other way, and they lost half the money. He played in safe, and received $81,000. That isn't bad at all.
So, if you were low on money, and had a 50% chance to make more and a 50% chance to make less, what would you do.