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Vanessa Rousso: Renowned Poker Player and Student at University of Miami School of Law [By Rebecca Unzicker] Currently ranked in the top 5% of her class at University of Miami School of Law, Vanessa Rousso is also one of the top 10 female money earners of all time on the World Series of Poker and the World Poker Tour circuits. Known as the “Lady Maverick of Poker,” Rousso, 24, is completing her third year of law school and is the youngest woman in history to compete in the finals of a WSOP-circuit event. With an undergraduate degree in economics
finalist in a moot court competition, and
top professionals at the World Poker Tour
from Duke University, Rousso plans to
has participated in the Miami Law Women
Championship event. She has won four
practice securities litigation after law school.
Student Organization, in the University of
World Series of Poker events, including
However, the practice of law may have to wait
Miami Law Review, and on Miami Law’s moot court board. She began studying law because of the challenge of appealing to an audience through public speaking while pursuing logical and creative solutions.
an eighth-place finish in this year’s $5,000
a few years while the young poker champ pursues still more titles and lucrative prizes. “I will likely defer the practice of law for a few years while I pursue the business opportunities
event. Most recently, she finished in first place at the World Poker Tour Borgata Open, winning almost $300,000. What she enjoys about poker, Rousso said, is that it is an ever-elusive target.
that have been made available to me as a
“I enjoy tackling the art of adversarial
result of my success in poker,” Rousso said.
persuasion,” Rousso said. “I found success
“There is always another variation to learn,
in these arenas early on as a debate While her counterparts routinely pursue
another group of people to challenge, and
champion in high school and, later, as a
internships prior to law school graduation
most importantly, the competition is always
mock trial lawyer at Duke.”
learning, changing, and evolving,” she said.
in order to gain practical legal experience, Rousso spends summers traveling the country
Having graduated with honors from Duke
to compete in professional poker tournaments.
in two and a half years, Rousso earned a bachelor’s degree with a major in economics and a minor in political science. While she was at Duke, her studies in economics focused heavily on game theory, to which she attributes much of her poker-playing success. Rousso earned more than $680,000 in 2006 on the World Series of Poker and
“I have been offered internships with some
World Poker Tour circuits. She is one of the
very prestigious law firms that I have
top 10 female poker players of all time.
repeatedly turned down to play the World Series of Poker, which takes place each
In April of 2006, Rousso placed seventh
summer,” Rousso said.
in a field of more than 600 of the world’s
In fact, one of her enduring law school memories is of a day in April 2006 when she finished a law school exam, rushed to the airport, arrived within seconds of missing her flight, and flew to Las Vegas, Nevada, to compete in the World Poker Tour world championships. Rousso not only aced that law school exam, but she also finished seventh in the world championships. The recipient of a full-tuition scholarship, Rousso is a dean’s-list student, was a semiPAGE
Q. What do you do for fun? A. Read, watch movies, work out, skydive, fine dining, play games of all sorts. Q. What CD is in your CD player right now? A. Moby. Q.What is the last magazine you read? A. Forbes. Q. What is your favorite TV show? A. American Idol. (It is addictive; you have to admit it!)
Rousso’s other hobbies and interests include playing backgammon, skydiving, working out, and film. She has volunteered with MADD, Toys and Tales, Walk for the Cure, the Palm Beach Youth Court, the Make-AWish Foundation, and the Center for Race Relations at Duke. She is also an instructor for the World Poker Tour Boot Camp. The only serious poker player in her family, Rousso will also be the only lawyer. “Ultimately, I will always be both a lawyer and a player regardless of the activity that I pursue as my primary profession,” she said. On the Net University of Miami School of Law www.law.miami.edu World Poker Tour www.worldpokertour.com/index.php World Poker Tour Boot Camp www.wptbootcamp.com