Yeah, this is The way to make the content feel like work.

Instead of the fact that every kill just might be the One, you are outright told you aren't getting crap until you complete this thing "too many times". Brilliant.

Maybe this event works in a significantly different way to anything I've ever experienced in an MMORPG before but the fact that each kill has a chance of making dreams a reality is a great incentive of keeping up with it. Meanwhile knowing deep inside that you aren't getting jack shit for ages- guaranteed- is the perfect way to make one lose all the drive to keep going.

Denying that it is not an incentive is denying common sense. When each time could be the one, it is a reason to keep going. It is why every MMO in existence has this type of loot systems to some degree, especially as far as the high-end rewards are concerned.