The PokerGO Studio opened its doors in May of 2018 at the Aria Resort & Casino, right in the heart of the Las Vegas Strip. Almost immediately, the frequency of high roller tournaments more than doubled, going from one or two events at the bigger circuit stops each month, to having a near-weekly series dedicated entirely to high-stakes buy-ins.
There have been a number of top pros who have made the studio their home base in the years since, opting for the convenience of a dedicated high roller schedule without the inconvenience of constant travel. Amongst those players, there’s an even smaller group who have managed to thrive, despite the shark-infested waters.
And even among those who regularly find the winner’s circle, David ‘Chino’ Rheem stands out. The 45-year-old is seemingly always in the middle of the action, always a threat to win, even though his path to the nosebleeds was a little different than his peers.
Gregarious and well-liked, especially among PGT regulars, Rheem hasn’t always tapped into his deep well of talent, even with a career that carries well into eight digits worth of results. There was a stint in jail when he was younger, and the early days of his gambling career were more about hustling than grinding. In poker, he’d hit a big score, and then give it all back. His skills were undeniable, so there was no shortage of investors looking to cash in. But sometimes, he’d borrow too much, and find himself deep in the hole looking for another score to get out.
The Los Angeles native recently captured the championship at the PokerGO Tour PLO Series II, courtesy of a victory in the $25,000 finale. It was his second PGT series this year and third title overall, making him the first in the history of the tour to accomplish the feat. He previously had won the PGT Mixed Games series in both 2023 and earlier this year.
Rheem’s 2025 campaign has arguably been his best yet. It’s certainly his most consistent, with 14 final tables and four titles for a total of $2.8 million in cashes. He’s racked up $6.8 million since the start 2021, and these days, he’s determined to hang on to it.
Millions Won, And Lost, In A Hurry
Rheem’s first major moment in the poker world came during the 2006 World Series of Poker. He finished second to Allen Cunningham in a $1,000 no-limit hold’em event, good for $327,981. At that point, Rheem had only a handful of recorded live results. But between his online poker experience, his instincts, and the benefits of spending a significant amount of time in and around poker with the Mizrachi brothers, Rheem’s early live results were impressive.
The spotlight grew significantly brighter in the second half of 2008. That summer, Rheem made the final table of the WSOP main event and became one of the original members of the November Nine.
He went on to finish seventh for $1,772,650. Just a month later, he took center stage in his return to the TV airwaves. Rheem won the first of three career World Poker Tour titles at the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic, banking $1,538,650.
The first public sign of distress for Rheem came in 2011, when he recorded his third seven-figure result in the debut event of the short-lived Epic Poker League. Less than a week after that $1 million win, the EPL surprised the poker community by putting Rheem “on probation” for violations of their code of conduct. A press release alleged a failure to pay back debts to other poker players.
After a significant overlay in the second event, the EPL would ultimately fold after just three of five scheduled tournaments were played. It was a messy exit that created animosity in the poker community for, ironically, failing to pay out on an end-of-season prize pool. But the damage to Rheem’s reputation had already been done.
Rheem kept piling up big scores, but each win was followed by jokes. Even broadcast commentators couldn’t resist jabbing about the supposed line of people by the casino cage waiting to collect.
He won another WPT title at Bellagio, the 2013 WPT Five Star World Poker Classic, for $1,153,730. His third WPT win came in 2016, at Hard Rock Poker Showdown for $705,885. Another $1,567,100 followed in 2019 at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure main event, his fifth career seven-figure score.
For his part, especially in recent years, Rheem hasn’t shied away from taking ownership of his shortcomings. In a 2024 appearance on the Table 1 Podcast, Rheem described the aftermath of that PCA win.
“Let’s say I’ve been playing professional poker 16 or 17 years, I could honestly admit 13 of those years, I didn’t have a fucking clue,” Rheem told hosts Art Parmann and Justin Young. “I was so far gone and lost in the world of addiction, when it comes to gambling and other stuff.”
“I would win seven figures in a tournament, and be broke… PCA for $1.5 million. My good friend Noah Boeken put me in that tournament, so I had half. I saw $750,000. That money was gone within two months. I’ve accumulated a lot of debts, I admit it. I’ve owed the poker world a lot of money, and I would do my best to make payments.”
A Place In Poker
Even at his lowest moments, Rheem had vocal support from some of the top names in poker. His skills were undeniable, and his personality made him easy to root for. Perhaps most significantly, Daniel Negreanu came to his defense when the EPL called him out publicly, and reiterated a positive perspective of Rheem multiple times over the ensuing years.
But while Rheem kept winning for others, something had to change if he was going to move beyond his pitfalls and start winning for himself.
By the time the 2022 PokerGO Tour season rolled around, Rheem found himself at a different point in his life, and his career. He entered the U.S. Poker Open, and rattled off a win and a runner-up finish. He knew right away that he had found something.
“The studio is like my home court, my backyard,” said Rheem. “I’m very close with the people who play here, they’re my good friends. I’m close with Cary [Katz], the staff, the dealers. I play cash games at Aria. I see them every day. For me, there’s no better place to play.”
Since that series, Rheem’s racked up $5,478,761 in PGT earnings. That puts him in the top 20 among all players in the tour’s history. Overall, he has won on the PGT eight different times, while making 37 final tables and cashing in 61 events.
“It’s rewarding. Satisfying,” said Rheem. “It’s humbling for me. I’m proud of myself when I do well at the studio, because I’m playing with the best in the world. It’s a good feeling to know that I can compete with the best, and still succeed.”
The bond between players who clash inside the PokerGO Studio might seem strange to those outside of that sphere. But even as they battle for hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars, the camaraderie that’s fostered in that environment has clearly done Rheem a lot of good, both at the table, and beyond it.
“I still make mistakes when I play with these guys,” said Rheem. “But they’re my friends, so I can talk to them about hands afterwards. I still learn, and try to improve, and not make the same mistakes. I get experience, and friendly, knowledgeable answers. And criticism.”
Rheem also suggests that, in being true to himself and his actions in the past, he’s been able to find his place.
“I think there’s just been a lot of growth in my life that helps me continue to compete at a high level.”
Results Speak For Themselves
While he’s evolved as a player over the years, a raw edge seems to remain around Rheem’s approach to tournament poker. Despite so much of poker strategy seemingly distilled to GTO charts and solvers in recent years, Rheem’s success hasn’t come from intensive study work. It’s his sharp table instincts that allow him to navigate and persevere by tapping into something different, a more human element of the game.
It’s not entirely unlike his old friend Michael Mizrachi, who permanently carved his name into the history books this summer with his 2025 WSOP main event and Poker Players Championship wins, in its level of effectiveness.
“I definitely would never consider myself in the solver group,” said Rheem. “It’s just that’s not how I learned how to play poker. I’m an intuitive player.”
Rheem grinned, and then, referencing his string of recent successes, added, “These days, I just try to fucking have it.”
With two months to go, Rheem’s 2025 is already the second-best year of his career in terms of total results, behind only his 2008 breakout performance.
The wins also hit differently at this point in his life, because it’s not just about him anymore.
“I’m a different person than I used to be,” Rheem admitted. “I appreciate it more. Before, when I used to win, I took it for granted. I fucked off the money every time I won back in the day. I had no regard for it. I had no purpose in life. I didn’t have responsibilities. I didn’t have a son.”
“As time goes on, and you get older, hopefully you learn and you grow as a person. I’m trying to do that every day. I think today, the person that I am, I’ve grown a lot. If I look back at where I was, even a few years ago, things were fucked up. I’m just very grateful.”
A Matter Of Respect
There’s not much in tournament poker that Rheem hasn’t done over the last two decades. In addition to his high roller exploits inside the PGT studio, he’s made three more runs at an elusive WSOP bracelet. In 2022, 2024, and 2025, Rheem earned his second, third, and fourth career runner-up finishes in WSOP events. With the way Rheem is playing, it seems like just a matter of time before that gap in his résumé is filled in.
While the money, and the trophies, will always be the primary motivating factors, Rheem’s also managed to accumulate something that’s harder to measure, which is the respect, and friendship, of his poker peers.
“That’s just a blessing,” said Rheem. “I’m grateful that I get to experience all of this, to share, and talk, and be friends with the sharpest minds in poker. It humbles me to be around winners, and to surround myself with good people.”
- Photos by PokerGO