Two members of The Poker Pack - Steve Sung and David ‘Chino’ Rheem - have made it to the final table at the WPT Doyle Brunson Five Diamond Classic at the Bellagio, Las Vegas. Sung signed his sponsorship deal to become a member of “The Poker Pack” alongside close friends JC Tran, Nam Le and Quinn Do back in August, while November Nine member Chino has inked his contract to join the pack this week. Sung goes to the final table as chip leader, while Rheem is third in chips. If this wasn’t enough success, fellow member of The Poker Pack Nam Le also cashed in the same event!The Poker Pack was formed in the aftermath of the Asian Poker Tour event in Macau in August with JC Tran, Nam Le, Quinn Do and Steve Sung the first players to sign. Since then it has been non stop success for the newly formed group who have ripped up major events around the world. Highlights include a HK$3.7 million (US$473,915) win for Nam Le and final table for Quinn Do at a highrollers event in Macau, a huge runner's up cheque of $943,215 for Nam Le at the WPT Festa Al Lago and a brilliant win for JC Tran, who represented the Asian Poker Tour and PKR at the recent star-studded PartyPoker.com Premier League III in London. The Poker Pack recently took part in a special bounty tournament on PKR which broke all records for the next generation site.
Newly signed member David ‘Chino’ Rheem is one of the most respected and liked professionals on the circuit and will be taking part in the Asian Poker Tour Philippines, which takes place January 27 – February 1 with fellow members of The Poker Pack. His profile increased greatly this year after finishing on the final table at the WSOP Main Event and cashing for nearly $1.8 million after finishing seventh. At the final table he received the support of many of the professional players. He now has a total of six WSOP cashes and live circuit tournament winnings of over $2,500,000. 28-year-old Chino was born in Los Angeles but moved to Florida in the late 1990's. While living there, he took advantage of the state's 18-year-old minimum age to play poker at a casino. He cut his teeth at the Seminole Hollywood Casino, playing with the likes of Robert and Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi.
Chino said: "The opportunity to sign a deal with all my friends was too good to be true! I have a huge amount of respect for JC, Nam, Quinn and Steve and together as a team I think we are really going places. I already pretty much travel the circuit with the other members of The Poker Pack and to be formally signed up is fantastic."
Steve Sung is guaranteed to become the 99th WPT millionaire at the Five Diamond as before this prestigious tournament he had $998,357 in career WPT earnings. Sung is chip leader at the final table and is now hoping to break the $2 million mark! Sung has reached two WPT final tables, with a runner-up finish at Bay 101 (March, 2008) and a 4th-place finish at WPT Barcelona (Oct, 2007) and certainly has form at the Five Diamond. 2006 saw him finish third in a $5,000 preliminary event, and then ninth in the $15,000 main event. As well as being a force on the live circuit, Sung is a feared and respected high stakes online player recognizable by his screen name 'MuGGyLiCiOuS.' Residing in Torrance, California since he was seven years-old, Sung was born in Seoul, South Korea and started playing on the live circuit as soon as he turned 21 years-old. After high school, he began attending the University of California at San Diego to study computer engineering and economics but left college to play poker. As well as big success at the WPT and online he has cashed significantly at the WSOP for the past two years.
Tom Hall CEO of AsianLogic Plc, owners of the Asian Poker Tour said: "Chino is a great guy and magnificent player and we're really happy to welcome him into The Poker Pack. If you look at how much prize money all these guys have made in 2008 and how much they may make in 2009 it is scary! As individuals they are all well known players on the circuit - together the possibilities are endless! There are many teams in poker but these guys are a really unified unit. They travel everywhere together and enjoy each other's success. Poker is in its infancy in Asia and we're excited by what we have lined-up for The Poker Pack and what they will achieve as a group."
Next stop for The Poker Pack after the Bellagio will be the prestigious Aussie Millions at Crown Casino in Melbourne. The Poker Pack will also be out in force and playing at the Asian Poker Tour Philippines, which takes place January 27 – February 1 at the Dusit Thani Manila Hotel in Manila. The main event has a $2,500 + $200 buy-in and there are lots of ways to qualify online. The Asian Poker Tour is supported by iPoker Network, Titan, Dafa Poker, PKR, PartyPoker, Everest, 888, JBet Poker, 32 Red Poker, Japan 3D Poker and Everleaf Network.
