David “Chino” Rheem

The story of David “Chino” Rheem has numerous plot twists to it. He graduated from the high school in West Palm Beach, Florida in 1998 and moved to South Broward, where the state laws allowed him to play poker at the age of 18. He started playing in the Seminole Hollywood Casino, becoming a regular there, known for his manners and dedication. However, on the poker front, he was not doing so well for himself. Things started to change for Chino when he met Michael Mizrachi. It was a chance encounter that led to a long friendship between the two. Michael and his brother Robert recognized his natural talent and the dedication he had for the game and decided to start coaching him. As he never had issues with devoting time to studying the game and now he had help of his newly found mentors, his game steadily improved over time. But he hit a bump on the road in his career, as he was sentenced to four months in jail and 30 months on probation because of some troubles he got into after the high school, and the future did not look too bright at that point. Nevertheless, he served his time and got back to poker, trying to catch up on lost time and improve his game further. The first tournament results started rolling in during the 2005. In July of 2006, he hit his first serious score, winning Bellagio Weekly Tournament for $60,000. About a month later, during the WSOP, he finished runner up in the $1k rebuy event, banking nearly $330,000 in the field of 750 players. Then came the 2008 and the most important score of his career. Playing in the WSOP Main Event, David “Chino” Rheem managed to find his place amongst the famous November Nine final table, proceeding to finish in 7th place, banking nearly $1.8 million. As poker results often come in bundles, the end of the year saw him take another prestigious title, as he won the WPT Doyle Brunson Classic, raking in more than $1.5 million in prize money. In 2011, he won the Epic Poker League Inaugural Event, taking home another cool million. His overall lifetime cashes stand at $7.2 million, placing him in the 52nd spot of the All Time Money List. Despite his great poker achievements, reputation of David “Chino” Rheem in the poker community has come under serious scrutiny during the recent years, as he was accused by numerous players of owing them money. When things started coming out, they just kept coming, as more and more people were claiming that Chino owed them money. He eventually even made a video in which he publically apologizes for his actions and claims to have turned a new page in his life, but in the community where reputation and one’s word mean perhaps more than anything else, he may have reached the point where it will be very hard for people to trust him again.