EPL final marred by Rheem controversy

This weekend saw LA-born pro Chino Rheem take down the
inaugural final of the Epic Poker League for a hefty prize of $1million.

Rheem fought to get past a stellar line-up on the final
table, eventually coming heads-up against formidable opponent Erik Seidel.
Seidel, who has eight WSOP bracelets to his name, put up a brave fight after
quickly becoming short-stacked. Unfortunately, the final hand saw his Ac-Qh utterly dominated by Rheem’s As-Kd, and Rheem became the first person ever to
receive the Epic Poker Championship Ring, and a cool million dollars to boot.

However, the sparkle of Rheem’s victory has been somewhat
tarnished by angry murmurings in the poker community. Several high-stakes
players have come forward, accusing Rheem of failing to pay back outstanding
debts.

Among the many who claim to have been wronged by Rheem is
Will ‘molswi47’ Molson, who posted on 2+2 forums asserting that Rheem had
‘scammed’ many people. In the thread, he alleges that ‘Chino still “owes” me 40k almost a
year later. I put that into parentheses because he flat out stole from me and
it’s at the point where I don’t expect to see my money back.’

Standards
of Conduct Committee member Michael ‘Timex’ Macdonald had beforehand assured
players on behalf of the EPL that anyone who was ‘a poor representative of the
game of poker’ would not be tolerated, and that the EPL would ‘publicly “out”
people who are kicked out of the league’.

Shortly
after his win, Rheem tweeted ‘Ya, I won a million
bucks! And I’m still broke!’ suggesting
that a large portion of the EPL winner’s cash prize went towards partly
paying back fellow pros. However, it is doubtful that this will be enough to
repair his tattered reputation, with many players calling for his exile from
the poker community.

The scandal
is the latest installment in the saga of the Epic Poker League, following
Daniel Negreanu’s very public dismissal of the enterprise. Stay tuned to PokerPlayer
for the latest news as and when we hear it!

The standings from the EPL Main Event final table were as follows:

1 Chino Rheem – $1,000,000?

2 Erik Seidel – $604,330?

3 Jason Mercier – $360,970?

4 Hasan Habib – $237,560?

5 Gavin Smith – $154,260?

6 Huck Seed – $107,980