Chino Rheem, who recently made headlines when he won the inaugural Main Event of the newly-formed Epic Poker League, taking home a $1,000,000 prize, has been suspended by the EPL due to a massive amount of outstanding debts. The EPL states that Rheem is in violation of their Code of Conduct not just because he owes a lot of people a lot of money, but because he’s allegedly gone to unusual lengths to avoid paying any of it back.
Rheem’s name has become a bit of a joke in the poker community (if having someone promise to pay you back and then actively refuse to do so is funny to anyone), where being ripped off by a player one has staked is often referred to as “getting Chino’ed”. So far, Ben Lamb, Erik Cajelais, Tom Dwan, Will Molson, and Joseph Cheong have all come forward and announced that Rheem owes them money.
Rheem has a history of cashflow problems, and his Epic Poker League win was no exception– of his million dollar win, Rheem saw a maximum of $200,000 of it, largely because he was backed 70% by Cirque de Soleil’s creator, Guy Laliberte, who took an extra 10% out for charity. With debts piled up across the internet (and many players making their complaints known, as it seems like Epic Poker League, unlike many other such groups, actually has their back on this one), Rheem has quite a challenge ahead of him: the EPL has stated that all of his winnings henceforth have to go to repaying his debts, and any further violations will mean that this former November-niner will be booted from the league.
So far, his EPL winnings have gone to paying off Ben Lamb and Erik Cajelais in entirety, although many of the other outstanding debts were paid in smaller amounts (on average, a 10% payment). Time will tell if more debts begin to come out of the woodwork as word spreads, but one thing is for sure– the EPL is committed to helping maintain their good name.
Stephen Martin, the chair of the Epic Poker League Standards and Conduct Committee issued the following statement regarding the parameters of Rheem’s probation:
- “Mr. Rheem’s probation will remain in effect until Mr. Rheem has satisfied his pre-league formation financial obligations.
- “Mr. Rheem must continue to proactively repay his outstanding debts by, from this point forward, using any and all proceeds Mr. Rheem personally receives from personal poker winnings worldwide to satisfy all of his remaining financial obligations in an orderly fashion.
- “Any new violation of the Epic Poker League rules (including the Players’ Code of Conduct) or the law by Mr. Rheem — now that the Epic Poker League play has been initiated — will result in an immediate suspension of Mr. Rheem’s League card and eligibility to participate in Epic Poker League events.
- “In reaching its decision, the Committee recognized that Mr. Rheem used best efforts and all of the proceeds he personally received from winning the Inaugural Epic Poker league Main Event to partially satisfy outstanding financial obligations. Mr. Rheem must continue to demonstrate this commitment to honoring all of his financial obligations.”
Even though Rheem took home a first place prize, he reports that he’s “still broke”. While the EPL may not bring him great fortune, perhaps it can help this player begin to recover his reputation.