In this reformulation it feels obvious to me that I should pay the same amount in both cases. But it's not obvious to me that the reformulation is equivalent to the original problem, because dying is not necessarily the same as surviving but losing all your utility, if some of the utility is due to experiences you can only get when you're alive.
I agree. But am I wrong to think that your exchange with steven0461 already cleared this up as much as it is possible?
By the way, it is amusing that Michael Dekker got his version by getting rid of the blood in Zeckhauser's version, and Zeckhauser got his version by adding some blood to Allais' version.
Imagine you're playing Russian roulette. Case 1: a six-shooter contains four bullets, and you're asked how much you'll pay to remove one of them. Case 2: a six-shooter contains two bullets, and you're asked how much you'll pay to remove both of them. Steven Landsburg describes an argument by Richard Zeckhauser and Richard Jeffrey saying you should pay the same amount in both cases, provided that you don't have heirs and all your remaining money magically disappears when you die. What do you think?