Table1: Turning $40 Into Six Figures: Chino Rheem Talks Degen Beginnings

David ‘Chino’ Rheem has seen the highest of highs and the lowest of lows during his poker and gambling career, but one thing’s for sure, he’s always in action. It started with a fake ID to get into the local tribal casinos in South Florida at age 17 and his taste for high stakes only grew after winning six figures at the Pai Gow tables on his first trip to Las Vegas. (He’d never even heard of the game before that night.)
Beyond poker and casinos, a run-in with the law as a teenager resulted in a two-week stint in an Atlanta jail cell after getting busted trying to smuggle weed back from Germany. He chalked it up to a learning experience, ultimately finding the poker world and routinely finding himself at the end of some of the biggest tournaments held over the last two decades.
Rheem’s largest score remains the $1,772,650 he pocketed for finishing seventh in the 2008 WSOP main event. He also won the 2019 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure main event for $1,567,100, the 2008 Five Diamond World Poker Classic for $1,538,730, the 2013 Five Star World Poker Classic for $1,150,297, the 2011 Epic Poker League main event for $1,000,000, and the 2016 Hard Rock Poker Showdown for $705,885. In short, he’s a closer, and it has resulted in more than $15 million in recorded earnings.
The 44-year-old recently joined the Table 1 Podcast to talk about his life at the table and beyond. Check out some of the highlights below or watch or listen to the full episode on YouTube, Spotify, Apple, or any podcast app.
Art Parmann: You once told me a funny story about coming back from Germany. Do you want to tell that one?
Chino Rheem: I was 18 years old and had just graduated high school. My dad said, ‘You have two choices. You can either go to college or come work in the restaurant in Germany.’
The guy who I call my uncle, because I’ve known him my whole life, he was my dad’s closest friend… they opened a sushi restaurant in Frankfurt. So, I said, ‘Let’s go to Germany,’ and I lived there for six months when I was 18 and I loved it. It was the best decision I could have ever made. It opened my eyes to the world, and I learned a little German and got to see what was out there besides what I already knew.
And when the six months were over, and my dad had paid me and everything, he said, ‘Good job. I’m proud of you. You worked hard. What do you want to do?’
I was a pothead. I was a stoner back then. Obviously, I wanted to go to Amsterdam. He said, ‘Okay, you can go, but you’ve got to bring your stepmother with you.’ Sure, no problem. She was cool.
We took a train to Amsterdam, and right when we left the station, the first thing I wanted to do was go to a coffee shop. They had a coffee shop literally on that strip when you leave the station by all those souvenir stores.
Justin Young: I actually just got back from Frankfurt and Amsterdam. I know exactly what you’re talking about – the little red light district area.
Chino Rheem: I went straight into that coffee shop, and it had all the little weed. They’re like, ‘This is Jack Herer, and this is Bubble Gum, and this is that.’ And I’m like, ‘They do not have this in America. I am going to be the man. I’m coming back with the best weed.’
I literally bought an ounce of all different types of weed, and then we took the train ride back. My stepmom, she was cool. I smoked a joint there, whatever. She wasn’t tripping. We take the train ride back to Germany. I have no idea what I’m doing. I wrap this ounce up in saran wrap and coffee beans, right?
But you could still smell it, and I could still smell it. We flew into Atlanta, we didn’t fly into Miami. We had this woman sitting in the middle of me and my mom. And the whole 10-hour flight this lady’s like, ‘I smell something, do you guys?’ And I’m just like, ‘I don’t know what it is.’ And my stepmom is like, ‘Yeah, I don’t know what it is.’
I just kept trying to play it off, but it was literally in my nutsack. I didn’t know where to put it. That’s how naive and stupid I was.
Art Parmann: No one’s going to touch there (laughing).
Chino Rheem: Now we land, and every person who flies international back then goes down these two escalators four stories high, so they take like three minutes to get down. At the bottom of the escalators are airport security with dogs – and I’m just freaking out.
Every person that gets to the bottom of the escalator, a dog sniffs them. Quick sniff and you walk by. I’m fucked. There’s like 10 airport security guys. They’re just talking. There’s no way I could toss this over. They’re just going to see it. There’s another guy with a dog. I don’t know what to do.
My stepmom is in front of me. She goes – little, sniff, sniff – she walks right by. Now it’s my turn. Sniff, sniff, and all I hear is, ‘Excuse me’ and I just keep walking. I hear ‘Excuse me,’ again and this dog is fucking going rampant on my nutsack. Finally, I feel a hand on my shoulder, saying, ‘Excuse me’ and the guy stopped me. He’s like, ‘Can you just stand there, sir?‘ And the dog’s just fucking going nuts and I’m dead.
He takes me in the office. Obviously, I get caught. He finds the weed and I got arrested. I thought I was going to be a slick little teenager and get away with it, and it was the dumbest thing I could have done.
One of the guys, I remember when he pulled it out because I had some prerolled joints – he’s like, ‘Bob, this right here is the best that I’ve ever smelled.’ It was literally just like that. He’s just talking to his other guy, ‘Some good stuff right here.’ He didn’t even fill out paperwork. He just stuck it in his desk drawer. Then there was a sign on the door, ‘If you pay a $2,000 fine, you’ll be released.’
I had $8,000 dollars on my person. I was like, ‘Okay, I’d like to pay it.’ They’re like, ‘You can’t pay it because you’re the detainee. You’re being arrested.’ I was like, ‘Okay, my stepmom will pay it.’ She goes, ‘No, I won’t. You can arrest him.’ She was so cheap.
I was in shock. I couldn’t believe it. I shouldn’t admit this now, but at that time I had a genuine full-on hatred for my stepmother after that moment.
Justin Young: You’re 18, your emotions got the best of you. You think you have an out for the worst thing you’ve ever done… and there are no outs.
Chino Rheem: Yes, and no outs.
Art Parmann: You literally, ultimately, got grounded by her.
Chino Rheem: I was in Fulton County jail for two weeks.

After moving more into poker in the coming years, Rheem began winning some tournaments despite his inexperience. He was determined to become a poker pro and began traveling with Robert and Michael Mizrachi. He credits Robert specifically with teaching him how to be a better player. After winning $11,000 in an $11 tournament online, Rheem jumped in a $100-$200 cash game to try and build his bankroll even more.
Chino Rheem: I got lucky. I ran good and I cashed money out. I had a $20,000 bankroll to go to Bellagio (age 21 at the time). Now, I have no fucking idea what Pai Gow poker is. I’ve never heard of Pai Gow poker in my life.
Art Parmann: But you’re a poker player. (laughing)
Chino Rheem: We are not even up in our rooms yet. Our bags are not even our room. We stop at the Pai Gow table, and it’s $25 a hand minimum. The dealer by the way, who gave me this run, still works at Bellagio.
I pull out 40 fucking dollars. I’m a nit, guys. It’s $25 minimum and you could bet the bonus. I bet $25 and $5 and next thing I know, I hit four aces. I get $1,000 or something, and I have a yellow chip. I put that yellow chip in my pocket, and I’m up $960 and I’m fucking ecstatic. But I have the little blacks and greens (chips). I still have like $400 and I have no idea what came over me, but I’m like, ‘Rob, this fucking game is cool. You never lose – two here, five here, let’s go.’ I’m just like, ‘How much can you bet?’
‘You can bet up to $10,000.’ I said, ‘Rob, I’m just going to keep going until I lose.’ Something came over me. I’m only playing one hand at a time, and now I have like three yellows. I bet a yellow, it wins. So I said, ‘Fuck it, let’s just keep going.’ Next thing I know I have $12,000 in front of me.
‘Rob, this is the easiest fucking game in the world. How do people not fucking play this all day?’
I bet the max – I win. I said, ‘How many hands can I play?’ Two. I bet two hands. I bet $10,000 max – I win. Rob’s like, ‘Oh my god, let’s go.’ I was like, ‘Rob, fuck that. When I get scooped, I’ll go. Next thing I know, I’m up $140,000.
Art Parmann: You’re up $140,000? Oh my gosh.
Chino Rheem: This sounds like a really cool story, but it was the worst fucking thing that could ever happen to me. That was the start of Chino’s degeneracy. Let’s just put it like that.
So now the pit boss is coming up to me and he’s like, ‘Mr. Rheem, we would like to upgrade you to a suite. We’ve got this nice penthouse, three-bedroom suite for you guys.’ We had a regular fucking room before, now they upgrade us. Finally, I got scooped. I won over $100,000 and I was ecstatic.
This was our first time in Vegas. You know the little skinny vans [advertising] the number for the girls? We’re doing it all. The girls came. I paid for everyone. I got hustled like two dimes. This is my first experience in Vegas, and I loved it and I had a great time.
Everything was comped. They wanted me to lose money back. I didn’t. Somehow, I left with that money. I couldn’t fucking wait to come back.
Three weeks later, me and Rob came back. I come with $50,000. I don’t even get up to my room and within five hands that $50,000 is gone. This all happened. It’s just a part of who I am. It made me who I am today.
Justin Young: There’s a pretty famous quote. ‘When it comes to gambling, the best feeling is gambling and winning. The second-best feeling is gambling and losing.’ When you get the taste, all you want to do is be in the action. It doesn’t matter if you win or lose, it’s about the journey of the bet.
Chino Rheem: It’s so true.
About The Table 1 Podcast
Hosted by high-stakes poker pros Art Parmann and Justin Young, the Table 1 Podcast is on a mission to make poker fun again. Tune in to see world-class pros talk poker, gambling, and all manner of life experiences on and off the felt. Visit www.Table1.vegas for the podcast, newsletter, or even to get in the game. ♠