Vanessa Rousso

Born February 5th, 1983, Vanessa Ashley Rousso plays as a Team PokerStars member under the handle “Lady Maverick” and also plays in poker tournaments and events around the world as a feared opponent.

Her poker career started online—when she was too young to play live—and moved to Indian casinos in 2004 when she started Miami law school. Rousso has finished in the money in the World Series of Poker many times and recently took 1st place in PokerStars European Poker Tour-Grand Final Monte Carlo $25,000 European High Roller Event giving her a prize of $749,467 (a chopping deal was made with the final three players) and top honors. In 2009 she finished 2nd to Huck Seed in the $20,000 No Limit Hold’em NBC National Heads-Up Championship for a win of $250,000. She is no stranger to the World Poker Tour, Poker After Dark, The Ultimate Poker Challenge, Legends of Poker, and many more poker competitions.

Her total winnings as of May of 2009 are over $2,100,000 in live tournament play. She also took 2nd place in 2007 in the World Championship of Online Poker in the NLH main event—bringing in a prize of $700,782.50.

Rousso has a list of accomplishments, in her young years, that would take a few lifetimes for others to realize:

•   She is a spokesperson for Godaddy.com
•   Has appeared in the 2009 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue—in a bikini
•   Was valedictorian of her high school class and graduated from Duke University
•   Held her own poker instructional boot camp in April of 2009 called the “Big slick Boot Camp”
•   Is very active in the right to play poker online—one of the contingent of representatives that flew to Washington, DC attempting to overturn the UIGEA with other members of the Poker Players Alliance
•   Plays Violin
•   Was on the varsity swim team in school
•   Has been featured in Maxim
•   Has taught poker to Forbes 100 Most Powerful Women
•   Plays poker very well…repeat…plays poker very well

Rousso is engaged to poker player Chad Brown and a 2009 wedding is in the works.

Tournaments and Winnings

Harrah"s New Orleans Bayou Poker Challenge
- $64657 $ 200 + 25 No Limit Hold"em
36th World Series of Poker (WSOP) 2005
- $164045 $ 1,000 Ladies Only Event - No Limit Hold"em
WSOP Circuit - Harrah"s Atlantic City
- $175505 $ 1,500 + 90 No Limit Hold"em
World Poker Challenge 2006
- $21935 $ 300 + 30 No Limit Hold"em
2006 WSOP Circuit - Caesars Atlantic City
- $193220 $ 1,000 + 80 No Limit Hold"em
Fourth Annual Five-Star World Poker Classic
- $2636257 $ 25,000 + 500 WPT Championship - No Limit Hold"em
37th World Series of Poker (WSOP) 2006
- $291680 $ 1,500 Limit Hold"em
- $473863 $ 2,500 Short Handed No Limit Hold"em
- $619558 $ 5,000 Short Handed No Limit Hold"em
2006 Legends of Poker
- $1553042 $ 9,700 + 300 WPT Championship Event - No Limit Hold"em
- 5 WPT Ladies Night Out - No Limit Hold"em
2006 Borgata Poker Open - WPT
- $2854501 $ 5,000 + 200 No Limit Hold"em
Poker After Dark
- 6 $ 20,000 Week 10
WSOP Circuit - Grand Tunica
- $1454017 $ 5,000 + 150 No Limit Hold"em - Championship Event
Ultimate Poker Challenge Championship
- $658632 $ 9,700 + 300 No Limit Hold"em - Championship Event
Poker After Dark II
- 4 $ 20,000 Week 13 - Queens and Kings
Gulf Coast Poker Championship
- $2803512 $ 9,700 + 300 No Limit Hold"em - Championship Event
Poker After Dark III
- $1200001 $ 20,000 Week 8 - "Gus and the Ladies"
2008 Borgata Winter Open - WPT
- $1721337 $ 9,700 + 300 No Limit Hold"em - Championship Event
WSOP Circuit - Harrah"s Rincon
- $848216 $ 5,000 No Limit Hold"em - Championship Event
EPT Grand Final
- $541164 € 2,000 + 100 No Limit Hold"em
39th World Series of Poker (WSOP) 2008
- $374357 $ 2,000 Pot Limit Hold"em
- $1066044 $ 1,500 No Limit Hold"em
- $21230625 $ 10,000 World Championship No Limit Hold"em
Latin American Poker Tour - Punta del Este
- $1106510 $ 2,500 + 200 No Limit Hold"em - LAPT
2008 European Poker Championships
- $2090939 £ 5,200 + 200 Main Event - No Limit Hold"em