Vanessa Selbst Wins $1 Million at Super High Roller Celebrity Shootout

LAS VEGAS (August 13, 2015) Poker Central®,​ the world’s only 24/7 Poker™ TV network and producers of the Super High Roller™ poker series, today announced poker pro Vanessa Selbst as the winner of the Super High Roller Celebrity Shootout™ and the $1 million prize.

The Unique Life of Vanessa Selbst

Raised in Brooklyn and Montclair, NJ, Vanessa began her college career with a year at MIT. She transferred to Yale and, after graduation, spent a year in Spain on a Fulbright Scholarship. Vanessa returned to the U.S. to work for the prestigious McKinsey Group, leaving McKinsey to play poker full time until being admitted to Yale Law School. After taking a semester off from law school to play poker in 2010 – winning $3 million and placing 6th on the poker money list that year – she graduated Yale Law in 2012.

In 2013 she married girlfriend Miranda, who she met on OK Cupid. Miranda Selbst works for a non-profit that uses social and emotional learning to make New York City schools a safe, positive and productive learning environment. The couple lives in Brooklyn.

When not playing poker, Vanessa uses her law degree to fight for social justice and works on her foundation, Venture Justice, which provides seed money for a variety of non-profits and social causes. Some of the organizations that Venture Justice has helped include the Urban Justice Center, Teachers Unite and Raising for Effective Giving (REG), the non-profit founded by fellow poker pros Igor Kurganov, Liv Boeree and others. Vanessa plans on using her $1 million winnings to help fund Venture Justice, as a poker bankroll, and to save for her future family.

“Vanessa is a great example of how fascinating poker players are,” said Clint Stinchcomb, CEO of Poker Central. “The stories behind the players are just as interesting as their play. Poker’s popularity, with players and fans alike, crosses all ages and demographics.”

Vanessa and Poker
The only female player in the Super High Roller Celebrity Shootout, Vanessa Selbst is the highest earning female poker player of all time and the only female poker player to ever rank 1st on the Global Poker Index. With $11.5 million in total winnings, Vanessa has been playing poker for ten years, starting online before moving to tournament play. As the only player to ever have back-to-back wins in the North American Poker Tour Main, Vanessa is also the only woman to win three bracelets in open WSOP events. Vanessa’s best year was in 2010 when, on a break from Yale Law School, she won $3 million, including her 1st place, $1.8 million win at the Partouche Poker Tour in France.

Meet Vanessa
Join Vanessa as she hosts a night of prizes, poker and fun at the “Blinds & Justice 2015” poker tournament in New York City on September 29th. “Blinds & Justice” raises funds for the Urban Justice Center, a non-profit that helps New York City’s most vulnerable residents through direct legal service, systemic advocacy, community education and political organizing. Other poker pros and celebrities scheduled to play include: Daniel Negreanu, Erik Seidel, actor Hank Azaria and others. For more information on the event, visit: www.urbanjustice.org.

About the Super High Roller Celebrity Shootout
The Super High Roller Celebrity Shootout began with one table of celebrities – Hank Azaria, Don Cheadle, Brad Garrett, Norm Macdonald and Kevin Pollak – who played until Kevin Pollak won the celebrity table. After that, poker pros Doyle Brunson, Antonio Esfandiari, Daniel Negreanu, Phil Hellmuth, and Vanessa Selbst faced off until Vanessa Selbst won the pro table. Kevin Pollak faced Vanessa Selbst in a best of three match that turned Vanessa into the winner of the $1 million.

Watch More Super High Roller on NBCSN
The six episodes of The Super High Roller Celebrity Shootout aired on NBCSN over the past three weeks, ending on August 12th. It is followed by the Super High Roller Bowl®, an open tournament with a $500,000 buy-in that includes celebrity players like Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu, Phil Hellmuth and Antonio Esfandiari. The 43 Super High Roller Bowl players each pay $500,000 to play for six prizes, all over $1 million, including a first prize of $7.5 million. The Super High Roller Bowl premieres on NBCSN on August 28th. Visitwww.superhighroller.com for the complete NBCSN schedule.

“This will be some of the toughest poker playing on earth with some of the world’s best players,” said Stinchcomb. “This nail-biting, non-stop, high pressure poker will have you glued to the game.”

About Poker Central®
Poker Central is the world’s only 24/7 Poker™ TV network. Going live on October 1st 2015, Poker Central’s non-stop coverage of everything poker captivates viewers with thrilling victories, heartbreaking defeats and fortunes made. Located in Las Vegas, Poker Central offers unique access every day to celebrity players, tips and strategies from the pros, player profiles and exclusive poker tournaments from stunning destinations around the globe. Poker Central is committed to delighting poker enthusiasts and advancing the game of poker worldwide. For more information, visit www.facebook.com/pokercentral and www.twitter.com/pokercentral.