Vanessa Rousso Finally Wakes Up on “Big Brother”

Sometimes the world of poker takes itself a bit too seriously. Crunching numbers to determine whether to call that big bet, worrying about which state will or will not pass online poker legislation, even fretting over things that haven’t happened (such as the demise of online poker) puts way too much stress on the community. With this in mind, we present this tidbit of information to lighten the mood:  poker professional Vanessa Rousso finally woke up on the CBS reality series Big Brother.

For two consecutive weeks, Rousso was following the strategy of “if you’re not vocal, you don’t get noticed and/or kicked out.” While factions were formed amongst the competitors, Rousso has stayed primarily on the edges of the fray and rarely stepped up in either the “head of household” competitions or in any of the factions that had been organized. She didn’t even warm up to one of the houseguests who might know who she is, a Los Angeles poker dealer named Da’Vonne, and no one else in the household seems to know who Rousso is despite being one of the most notable faces in the world of poker.

The lack of airtime for Rousso has gone beyond just the live episodes broadcast on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. On the unedited live versions of the show, Big Brother After Dark (not to be confused with Poker After Dark), that is broadcast on the POP TV (or TV Guide) Network during late night hours on the East Coast (11PM or midnight until around 2AM or 3AM), Rousso has kept to herself and out of such scintillating conversations as to what particular house guests gaseous emissions smell like (yes, you will lose IQ points watching this show). Wednesday night’s episode of Big Brother signifies that Rousso, at least for the next week, is going to be one of the focal points on the show.

It started early during Wednesday night’s episode as Da’Vonne, roundly criticized by the house guests and looking pretty much like the reality show version of “Dead Woman Walking,” begged Rousso to keep her around the house and not vote for her eviction. “We’d make a great team,” Da’Vonne stated and, in the end, Rousso said she would vote to keep her around the house. Instead, during the vote to evict either Da’Vonne or another house guest, Meg, Rousso would opt to vote out Da’Vonne. In a 7-2 vote, it was Da’Vonne who left the Big Brother house.

Things looked even better for Vanessa as the Wednesday broadcast drew to a close. During the competition to determine the next “head of household” in a game devised by New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski (using a launching arm to shoot a ball into one of 55 numbered cups, a la Beer Pong), Rousso would tie for second with two of the other house guests. Only one of the three could become the second “head of household” and, after the three each took tie-breaker shots, Rousso put her shot into the cup with the largest number. With that – and despite not being a very visible member of the household over the previous couple of weeks – Rousso now has a 50/50 chance to move onward in the program.

The reason that chance is 50/50 is that, at some point over the next week, the two “heads of household” will be cut down to one by a competition between players that each head has chosen for a team. That person, whether it is Rousso or her fellow “head of household,” will be the one determining who the next two potential evictees will be. Although Rousso is a former athlete, her fellow “head of household” competitor is the wrestler Austin, who looks as if he could bench press a VW without breathing hard. If the “head of household” competition is a physical one, Rousso would be the underdog in the battle.

Mind you, this isn’t the competition that most poker players are used to and maybe following Rousso’s exploits on Big Brother could be a waste of time. For the next week, however (Sunday at 8PM Eastern Time, Wednesday at 8PM and Thursday at 9PM, with the Big Brother After Dark episodes running daily, but be sure to check local listings for accurate times), Rousso will be one of the focal points of the program as she either looks to get involved in the game or sit back and try to camouflage her intentions towards later in the game before making any significant moves.