December Diamonds: Chino Rheem Speaks

By Martin Derbyshire Dec 22, 2008 | 11 months ago

David "Chino" Rheem at the final table of the Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic

A month from his seventh-place finish at the 2008 WSOP Main Event, David "Chino" Rheem proved he's no flash in the pan, beating one of the scariest fields ever assembled and a sick final table to win the Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic at Bellagio Friday night.

PL.com took the walk to the cage with Chino to pick up his $1.5 million first-place prize and give him a chance to tell the world how he just became the hottest player in the game.

We're about a month past the WSOP Main Event, Chino. You've had other final tables at the WSOP before. How good does it feel to get over the hump here and get a win on the WPT?

Listen, it $#@%ing feels good; that's all I can say. I can't say any other words than that. It feels real, real good dude. You know, after the Main Event I was, not disappointed, just heartbroken. This is just validation for me personally. So it feels good.

You played pretty solid throughout and at the final table, but there were spots where you also got really lucky. That ace-nine of hearts three-handed where you shoved into Evan McNiff with ace-jack? What were you thinking there?

Look I'll be real. There was, like, three times where I tried to give it away and I got lucky. You know, that's what I'm known to do and if I gotta win that way, I'll take it.

Living the Rheem dream.

It's a questionable play. Most of my buddies probably would have folded, but I play kind of aggressive and I thought it was a good squeeze. [Justin Young] raised, then [McNiff] reraised, we're three-handed and I had A-9 suited. If they fold, I pick up like a million. Once he called, I needed a nine and it came.

So you get heads-up and then it goes super long with you and Justin trading the lead back and forth. Tell me what you think of Justin's play?

He's a very good player. He plays very solid. I think Justin and I were sort of on the same page of what we wanted to do heads-up against each other. We just wanted to chop at each other and it just so happened that whenever I had the big hands, he paid me off more.

Whenever we played bigger pots, I happened to win them. Except for when I would give them away to him. We played good small-ball poker, both of us, and he's a very solid player. He's been around the Bellagio for years. To be honest with you, the cards just didn't fall his way; they sort of fell my way.

Big-money playa.

You worked your way into an $18 million to $4 million chip lead. Then suddenly you were not in the lead anymore before you got it in with that flush draw and hit the club. After that it was all over, so I guess that flush was really the turning point?

Listen, I had the lead; then I straight gave it away, which was dumb. Something I'm known to do. I was never going to forgive myself for it and I happened to get lucky. The way I look at it, it's like the Main Event wasn't meant to be and maybe this was.

Justin played great. He didn't do anything wrong today. The cards didn't fall his way, that's all.

So what's next for you Chino?

Take a long break. Have a nice holiday.

Nice, and as far as poker is concerned?

I think maybe Australia. The Aussie Millions; that's the next goal.

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Some players make a WSOP Main Event final table and they're never heard from again. Others, like Chino Rheem, take the experience and turn it into gold. Rheem's first nugget came Friday at the Five Diamond, but get used to this man. He plans to stick around a while. Chino will be panning for poker gold across the globe and it's really only a matter of time before he strikes again.