CBS’ Big Brother reality show has a massive fan following all over the world and has run successfully for 17 seasons so far. The reality show invited poker pro Vanessa Rousso to take part in its 17th season and it was a big decision for Rousso to make as it meant skipping the 2015 World Series of Poker (WSOP) as the dates for shooting Big Brother coincided with the WSOP.
Rousso decided to skip the 2015 WSOP and give Big Brother a shot and in the end she was happy she made the decision. While the poker pro did not finish first and win the top prize of $500,000, she managed to beat a lot of the competition to finish in third place after being evicted. Rousso did not disclose her career profession to the house but instead sold herself as a professional DJ and managed to win a lot of friends in the house and fans all over the world.
While it was a tough decision for Rousso to skip the WSOP for the first time in her poker career she decided that Big Brother would challenge her mentally, physically, emotionally and philosophically and in the end decided that it would be a once in a lifetime experience that she had to be a part of. Although she was disappointed at being evicted, she was happy with the show and her performance and credits her poker career for taking her so far in the US Big Brother 17 household and helping her to survive for a total of 98 days and stick to her cover story.
Rousso also stated that even though poker was an extremely challenging game, the reality show was a lot more challenging and required her to constantly work on her weaknesses and turn them into her strengths. After her time with Big Brother, her popularity and fan base has grown even larger and Rousso has no regrets of skipping the 2015 WSOP to be a part of Big Brother.
In a statement, Vanessa Rousso said
On Big Brother, when you have a lot on the line in a high-stakes situation, a lot of people weren’t as prepared as I was. I took things calmly, cool and collective, because of my training in poker. Poker also taught me how to bubble with good sportsmanship and have a positive perspective. I essentially just bubbled for a lot of money and walked out with a smile on my face and good things to say about the winner
