A French-American dual citizen born in New York, Vanessa Rousso studied at Duke University, where she graduated with honours on full scholarship. She then went to law school in Miami with hopes of becoming a securities litigator. That was until she discovered poker.
During her time at Duke, Vanessa became interested in Game Theory, which teaches how to apply complex math-based decision making strategies to everyday life. Couple that knowledge together with a lifelong love of games and it seems a natural fit that she would wind up as a poker player. Vanessa began making an impact on the live tournament circuit in 2005, developing her skills with several impressive results. A year later, she made the final table of the WPT Championship event, finishing 7th and taking home over $250,000. In the same year, Vanessa also became the youngest ever female player at the time to reach a World Series final table, with an 8th place finish in the $5,000 Shorthanded Hold’em event. This was followed by victory in a preliminary event at the WPT Borgata Poker Open, where Vanessa beat a field of 173 to win first place prize money of $285,450.
In October 2007, she finished 2nd in the main event of the PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker. Vanessa walked away with over $700,000, one of the biggest cash prizes in the history of online poker. In March 2009 Vanessa added another big result to her varied resume, this time in the discipline of heads-up poker. At the star-studded NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship, Vanessa played through a field of 64 of the world's best players to reach the final, where she placed second for a cash of $250,000. Fresh from that score Vanessa travelled to Monte Carlo for the EPT Grand Final with high hopes of more success. She did not disappoint, recording her biggest ever cash, winning the €25,000 High Roller Event for €720,000 - a victory made sweeter by the fact she beat 78 of the world’s best players in a star-studded tournament.
When Vanessa isn’t playing, she somehow manages to find time for many hobbies. Describing herself as something of an adrenaline junkie, she regularly goes skydiving and bungee jumping. Vanessa has also contributed strategy articles to several poker magazines.
With sizeable winnings both live and online, there are surely many more titles on the horizon for Vanessa.
Career Highlights
| Event | Date | Position | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| WPT $25,000 No-Limit Championship | April 2006 | 7th | $263,625 |
| WSOP $5,000 Shorthanded No Limit Hold’em | July 2006 | 8th | $61,955 |
| WPT Borgata Open $5,000 No Limit Hold’em | September 2006 | 1st | $285,450 |
| Ultimate Poker Challenge Championship | Event March 2007 | 2nd | $65,863 |
| PokerStars WCOOP No Limit Hold’em Main Event | October 2007 | 2nd | $700,782 |
| Poker After Dark ‘Gus and the Girls’ Episode | January 2008 | 1st | $120,000 |
| EPT Monte Carlo €2,000 No Limit Hold’em | April 2008 | 4th | $54,116 |
| PokerStars WCOOP $1,050 FLHE | September 2008 | 3rd | $59,450 |
| WPT Southern Poker Championship | January 2009 | 7th | $79,117 |
| NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship | March 2009 | 2nd | $250,000 |
| EPT Grand Final €25K High Roller | May 2009 | 1st | $946,696 |
| PCA $1,000 Ladies Event | January 2010 | 1st | $24,725 |
| WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic Main Event | December 2010 | 3rd | $358,964 |
| EPT Madrid €25,000 High Roller | May 2011 | 5th | $148,423 |
