Subdued "Chino" Rheem Wins EPL While Pros Await Outstanding Debts
August 13, 2011 8:17 amRecently Daniel Negreanu slated the newly formed Epic Poker League (EPL), citing a lack of interesting players around to pique the attention of the public.
However, with David “Chino” Rheem‘s victory at the inaugural $20,000 Six-Handed tournament for $1 million, Negreanu’s prediction may yet prove right for all the wrong reasons as the hot topic on the TwoPlusTwo forum this week has been the alleged scamming stories related to the Californian pro.
So far players coming forward and adding their names to the alleged creditor list include Tom “durrrr” Dwan, Will Molson ($40k), 2010 WSOP November Niner Joseph Cheong ($40k) and 2011 WSOP November Niner Ben Lamb.
The 29 year-old’s poker skills were showcased at the Epic Poker League’s inaugural main event, after overcoming 137 of the top pros in the world, including Huck Seed, Gavin Smith, Hasan Habib, Jason Mercier and Erik Seidel at the final table.
Eventually, Rheem defeated Eric Seidel heads-up holding A-K to his opponent’s A-Q to lift the trophy and take his life time tournament earnings to an impressive $5,370,875.
However, rather than receiving the accolade associated with such a high-profile win, David “Chino” Rheem has found himself, instead, the subject of a tirade of verbal attacks from the poker community.
One sarcastic post on the TwoPlusTwo forum entitled ‘Chino Rheem to carry the banner for the Epic Poker League as its inaugural champion’ mockingly wrote “He is everything that true professional poker should be about: class, etiquette, sophistication, style, and respect for and by his fellow professionals…And who better to form a character committee than Annie Duke, who is beyond famous for her pleasant demeanor and constant charm?”
Prior to the EPL final table when the “Chino” Rheem malcontents were airing their views online, EPL committee member Mike “Timex” McDonald issued a statement explaining that any poor representatives of the game would soon find themselves kicked out of the league.
If the rumours of David “Chino” Rheem’s integrity are accepted, then it remains to be seen how the inaugural Epic Poker League Champion follows up his victory at the Palms in Las Vegas.