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Throwback to Vanessa Selbst outlasting Kevin Pollak to win $1M

Back in 2015, poker pro Vanessa Selbst won the $1 million winner-take-all top prize in Poker Central’s Super High Roller Celebrity Shootout, which was an invite-only freeroll. Newly established Poker Central aired the tournament live on NBC Sports, two single table tournaments. One table consisted of only celebrities and the other consisted of only pros. The winners of each table met in a best out of three heads-up finale.

The pro line-up included 15 time WSOP winner Phil Hellmuth, 10 time WSOP Legend Doyle Brunson, world’s leading tournament money winner, Antonio Esfandiari, six WSOP winner Daniel Negreanu and the world’s biggest female money winner, Vanessa Selbst. 

The celebrity line up includes A-lister, Golden Globe winner and Academy Award nominee, Don Cheadle, star of The Usual Suspects and A Few Good Men, Kevin Pollak, stand-up comedian and former host of High Stakes Poker, Norm MacDonald, 3 time Emmy Award winner Brad Garrett, and movie star and the voice of many a Simpsons character, Hank Azaria.

Selbst was the last person standing as she outlasted Esfandiari, while Pollak reached the top spot on his table after defeating Azaria heads-up. It was an easy win for Selbst as she won the first two rounds against Pollak and claimed the one million prize money. The victory pushed her all-time live earnings to $11.6 million back in 2015. The one million mark was her third largest score in her career. The other two cashes were 2010 Partouche Poker Tour Main Event for $1,823,430 and $1,424,420 in 2013’s Pokerstars Caribbean Adventure Super High Roller. 

Selbst is widely recognized as one of the best poker players on earth. The three-time World Series of Poker gold bracelet winner became the first woman to ever reach the #1 position on the GPI World Poker Rankings – sitting first in the world for a few weeks in June of 2014. The Yale Law School graduate established her foundation, Venture Justice, in 2010. Right now, Selbst has around $11,906,246 live earnings in her career.

Clint Stinchcomb, CEO of Poker Central said, “Vanessa is a great example of how fascinating poker players are. 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.” For more Throwback Thursday articles, keep reading GutshotMagazine.com

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