David Rheem is a successful tournament pro based out of Miami, FL. His trademark sunglasses and hooded sweatshirt disguise an extremely talented up and coming player.
Though he has only been buying into major tournaments for 3 years, the man called “Chino” has already cashed in 15 different major tournaments, with the 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event marking number 16. David Rheem’s major cashes include: 2nd in the 2006 WSOP $1,000 NL Hold’em with Re-Buys, 29th in the 2007 WSOP $2,500 H.O.R.S.E., 5th in the 2008 WSOP $5,000 Mixed Hold’em (Limit and No Limit,) seven different cashes in World Poker Tour events and, most recently, a huge score for Final Table appearance in the 2008 WSOP – 7th for $1.8 million.
Immediately following his big WSOP score, Rheem went out a month later and won the 2008 WPT Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic for $1.5 million. All told, he has over $4.2 million in live tournament earnings.
In an interview Chino gave to us a few months prior to the WSOP Main Event final table, he discussed how he became involved with poker: “I’m Asian and gambling is in most Asian people’s blood. My dad hosted home games when I was young. When I was 18 years-old, I went to an Indian casino. While I was there, I met the Mizrachi brothers, Michael and Robert. Poker is fast money and the competition is something that I immediately latched onto.”
He also went into detail about how poker has changed his life:
“With regards to the 2008 WSOP Main Event, poker has changed my life a lot. If anyone wants to make a final table in any tournament, this is one the one you want to make. Since the final table doesn’t occur until 100 days after it’s determined, it’s obviously all very new to me. If I had made the final table in 2007, it would have been different. It’s the biggest accomplishment of my poker career. Making the 2008 Main Event final table has changed my life financially and has allowed me to get endorsement deals. It’s a lot to take in all at once, but it gives me a great deal of pride and satisfaction.”
Click here for David “Chino” Rheem’s interview with Poker News Daily.