Vanessa Rousso is one of the most popular female poker players who has been able to make a name in this male-dominated poker. This is why she has been featured in our ‘Queen of Poker’ list. She is also an attorney, DJ and television personality outside the game of poker. Let us dive into her life, poker career, net worth and more!
Vanessa Rousso’s Early Life
Vanessa Rousso was born on February 5, 1983, in New York. According to her mother, She began talking and reading at an early age. At three years old, Rousso’s family moved to France. Her parents later divorced in 1992.
Rousso attended Wellington Landings Middle School and was active in various activities during high school, including the swimming, lacrosse, and debating teams. She also enjoyed playing softball and basketball in school. She had a bright future ahead.
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Rousso received numerous scholarship offers for college due to her excellent record in high school. She then attended Duke University, majoring in Economics with a minor in Political Science. She briefly dropped out of law school to pursue poker but later returned to complete her law degree, where she graduated in 2018.
Vanessa Rousso’s Poker Career and Earnings
Rousso has been passionate about poker since the age of five. Her first live poker tournament was at Hard Rock sit & go ten-player tables. Rousso participated in the $1,000 Ladies NLH Tournament in 2005 WSOP, where she walked with $1,640. She saved this money for the buy-in of WSOP Circuit in 2006, where she was able to make $17,550, which then helped her to fund her next buy-in at a World Poker Tour event in Las Vegas.
In the WPT event, Rousso achieved a notable 7th-place finish and earned $263,625 in the $25,500 WPT Championship. This accomplishment solidified her status as a prominent poker player. She then appeared in PokerStars’ popular TV poker series Big Game TV.
Rousso went on to win the Gus and the Ladies event in Poker After Dark Season III and earned $120,000 in 2008. That following year, she played in the World Poker Tour Season VII Southern Poker Championship, finishing in 7th place for $79,117.
Rousso’s best-ever live cash came in 2009 when she won the €25,500 No Limit Hold’em Tournament in the European Poker Tour and took home a massive €532,500 (~$700,160) home. Between 2005 to 2011, she posted numerous ITM finishes across live events and amassed over $3.5 million but has been less active since then, earning just $83k in live tournaments between 2012 and 2017. As of May 2024, Rousso’s live earnings exceed $3.5 Million.
Vanessa Rousso Career – Key Highlights
>> Rousso was a member of Team PokerStars (2006 – 2015)
>> Won over $700k in the main event of the World Championship of Online Poker (2007)
>> Big Brother (Reality Show, 2015)
Vanessa Rousso Net Worth 2024
The Miami resident is one of the richest female pros and her net worth is estimated around $6 million. This amount includes her poker winnings as well as income from various other ventures. Rousso had a vast career outside of poker. She is a popular TV Personality and has appeared in the popular TV reality show Big Brother in 2015 where she finished in 3rd place.
Aside from TV and Poker, Rousso loves music. In fact, she has produced numerous songs as well as worked as a DJ. She was a part of Team PokerStars since 2006 but parted ways with them in 2015. Rousso also worked for the popular domain company GoDaddy, she shot an Ad for them. Unfortunately for her fans, Rousso retired from Poker in 2022 to pursue her career in Law.
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