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The World Series of Poker Main Event began this week, and roughly 10,000 players are expected to compete for a $10 million first prize. That means at some point over the next two weeks, all but one of them will go all-in… and lose. 

On Thursday, Republicans also went all in on their biggest gamble to date. 

It remains to be seen whether the megabill they passed is beautiful, but it is certainly big: It’s so all-encompassing that it will become apparent before the 2026 midterms whether it was a good bet or not. 

We believe it’s foolish that they bet all their political capital on a failed casino owner — but we may be wrong. Perhaps the bill will indeed usher in the “golden age” of America and finally make the country great again.

Democrats, on the other hand, are all-in on opposing it. If they are right and the legislation will lead to great pain and suffering for anyone who is not wealthy, then they could hit the jackpot ahead of the most crucial midterm election in US history.

On the one hand, if they prevail and win control of Congress, Donald Trump would no longer have a blank check from a subservient legislative branch. Just as importantly, there are plenty of signs that Republicans want to make future elections as beneficial to their party as possible. 

We saw that again this week, when Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) proposed a mid-decade census that would only count American citizens and allows states to redraw their district lines in a way that favors the GOP. 

There is no doubt that the megabill, which is about to become the megalaw, will have sweeping consequences. Many people will see tax cuts. For most of them these will be moderate at best and offset by the loss of programs that help regular Americans make ends meet, like Medicaid and food assistance. 

But it will do much more. For one, it will put ICE on steroids and turn it into a massive internal police force. Even in its current form, ICE is already looking pretty scary, so it’s not difficult to imagine what things will look like with a larger budget, more agents, and less accountability. 

The planned mass deportations will likely have a devastating impact on the economy because, contrary to what the Trump administration would have people believe, most of those who will be kicked out of the country are crucial workers (in addition to being consumers).  

In other words, the impact of some provisions of the bill will be felt very quickly. For others, like the GOPs inexplicable war on green energy, it will take longer. 

Overall, however, we will know fairly soon whether the law is beautiful or a big bust.

One thing is for sure: Donald Trump and the GOP now own the economy. They are promising massive growth and prosperity, and if their bill does not deliver, they only have themselves to blame (though they will try to pin it on former President Joe Biden if things go south). 

And that may just be the best thing about the legislation: The cards are all on the table; now we’ll see where the chips will fall.