That would be the only way Chuck gets off the hook in the long run. Otherwise, he gets nailed for using his trust. This was my thought as well. (That, or he wants out of the game, and it was worth the loss to bring down Axelrod in the process.)

True, but will Ira find out in time to prevent him from doing something rash?

Great character, even if he is a skeeze. He's not unidimensional—good writing.

Yeah, I couldn't figure out if he's going to get the money back or if the laughter at the end was due to the fact that he had to lose everything in order to bring Axe down. Now he starts with a clean slate on his way to the governor's mansion. (Or he thought Wendy would bail him out—"My money is our money"—not knowing…

The writers alluded to that in the martial arts scene. Chuck gave Axe an "opportunity," and Axe ran with it, only to be taken down in the end, like Chuck's opponent in the ring.