Vanessa Rousso bubbles Big Brother 17 as Steve Moses opts to take Liz Nolan into the heads-up phase before going on to win the contest and capturing the $500,000 first prize.
Was this the biggest bubble of Vanessa Rousso’s life?
Former Team PokerStars Pro, and all round poker superstar, decided to sacrifice a significant amount of poker time to spend 98 days as part of the Big Brother Season 17 extravaganza on CBS.
Will it all be worth it?
I think it will.
Everyone was playing for the $500,000 first prize. Had Rousso taken it down it would have been her second highest cash in her life, trailing only her victory in the €25,500 High Roller event at the European Poker Tour (EPT) Grand Final in Monte Carlo back in Season 5.
Ultimately, it wasn’t meant to be.
The final three contestants were Rousso, Steve Moses and Liz Nolan. Moses had to decided whom he would take forward into the final jury vote, and it was at this time that Rousso’s competition would come to an abrupt end. With $500k for first, $25k for second and the inside of a balloon for third, this constituted her most important bubble to date.
It burst.
Moses, who went on to win the contest by six votes to three, had this to say to Rousso after sending her packing.
“Vanessa, across 17 seasons of this game, I am thoroughly convinced that you are the strongest female player this game has ever seen. Your strategy has been beyond brilliant, you’re such a talker, and you’re so charismatic. I, as a fan, so admire everything about your game and I know you can talk your way in with that jury,” Steve explained.
Rousso must have known she had it coming. She later admitted had the shoe been on the other foot she would have done the same to Moses.
Talking about shoes. Rousso’s decision to blindside her supposed buddy Austin Matelson is being talked about as the biggest blindside in the history of the show. Matelson was so surprised at his fifth place exit – courtesy of Rousso’s backhander – he wasn’t even wearing any shoes.
“You can’t win the game.” Matelson told Rousso as he walked barefoot out of the house.
He was right.
After Matelson finally got a pair of shoes, he spoke up about his feelings for Rousso, and they weren’t pretty:
“Vanessa completely betrayed me,” says Austin. “I knew it was a possibility because it’s Big Brother, but her whole game was about playing with integrity and not betraying me since we made a final two deal on the second day. She swore to me on her family, her girlfriend, the LGBT community and the Bible and she’ll have to deal with those consequences of making those pledges and going back on it.”
Moses, who looks uncannily like Steve Silverman, also won $25,000 after being voted “America’s Favorite Houseguest”. After the contest The Hollywood Reporter asked Rousso if she ever thought she would win that vote.
“I was never going to be America’s favorite. I’m not funny. I’m not entertaining. I’m a strategist; that’s not really fun to watch. I never expected to win it. I’m very aware of what my assets are and what they’re not.” Rousso replied.
It was an interesting post-game interview. When questioned on her constant crying, Rousso told the reporter that those tears were for everyone else, not her.
“I’ve played poker professionally for almost a decade. During that time I’ve developed some pretty thick skin and tolerance for having things not go my way.”
Rousso also told the reporter that whatever cockiness she had was beaten out of her at the poker table.
“I learned very quickly how to survive in the poker world meant being humble.”
What next for Rousso?
Something tells me that she is about to become a very busy girl.
