Season 23 of Survivor to Feature Poker Player

For several years now, rumors have circulated that another poker player would be featured on the popular CBS reality show Survivor, following up Jean Robert Bellande's turn on Survivor: China. Although not a household name, Survivor contestant James Rice III claims to have won between 20 and 40 tournaments over the years.

The 35-year-old mid-westerner is now known for running two medical marijuana dispensaries in Denver, Colorado. He will be battling 17 other contestants in Samoa for the $1 million prize.

Rice's biggest live poker score came in 2006, where he won a $2k 2006 WPT Festa al Lago Bellagio event for $116,525 beating Jean “Prince” Gaspard heads-up. Brian "tsarrast" Rast, Men Nguyen, and Chip Jett finished 4th, 5th and 6th in the event. He also had a sizable $66k score in a 2011 Heartland Poker Tour event for finishing third.

Rice stated he feels very confident at the poker table as a result of having played poker his entire life.In addition to his poker experience, Rice states that he has "worked on Wall Street, started several successful businesses and earned his MBA at a top five school from the University of Michigan."

Survivor: South Pacific premieres with a 90 minute episode on CBS on Wednesday, Sept. 14th.