Vanessa Selbst is the only female world champion of poker and the highest earning woman in the game, in fact. But she’s not just sticking to playing cards—Ms. Selbst, 31, is also a venture capitalist using bits of her nearly $12 million in career poker winnings to fund nonprofit startups vying to advance civil rights.
Talking to Observer.com, the high stakes pro explained how she’s now become something of a venture capitalist with her poker winnings. However, instead of putting her money into the latest tech company, she’s investing her bankroll in nonprofit start-ups.
QUENTIN LECOMTE WINS 2013 UNIBET OPEN CANNES MAIN EVENT
Quentin Lecomte wins 2013 Unibet Open Cannes Main Event
Unibet Pro Quentin Lecomte took down the €1,650 buy-in Unibet Open in Cannes, to winn the title.
With 313 entries, the generated prize pool was €450,720. The top 36 spots paid out, and notables to finish inside the money, but short of the final table, included Jasper Wetemans (17th – €5,100) and Paul Guichard (25th – €3,500).
Lecomte secured his best ever live score after working his way through a final table that included Paul Valkenburg, Paul Tedeschi and Thierry Morel before beating Sweden’s Linus Hjulstrom heads up. Quentin Lecomte collect the €100,000 pize, after outlasting a field of all 313 runners in the Riviera resort.
WPT ALPHA8 ANNOUNCES LONDON AND JOHANNESBURG EVENTS
The World Poker Tour have announced two new stops for its super high roller Alpha8 tournament series. The two new stops that have been announced are London, England and Johannesburg, South Africa.
WPT Alpha8 London will take place on October 28 and 29 at the Palm Beach Casino at the May Fair Hotel in London, with a £100,000 ($160,110) buy-in representing an increase of over 50 percent compared to the tour’s debut event back in August. WPT’s Alpha8 London tournament is a two-day affair, with re-entry, aimed at poker professionals of the highest caliber and the wealthy poker enthusiasts who want to sit with them. The London event will come with a £100,000 buyin and will take place in Mayfair’s Palm Beach Casino on October 28, 2013. The UK Alpha8 is a televised event and will hit the FOX Sports 1 airwaves in early 2014.
The third announced stop will take Alpha8 down to Johannesburg, South Africa on February 14 and 15 with a $100,000 price tag. Cards go in the air on Valentine’s Day, with the Emperors Palace Hotel & Casino Resort playing host to the two-day made-for-TV broadcast. The Johannesburg stop offers more than just poker for those who make the trek and put up the $100k. The Togel Hongkong tour stop is offering VIP ground transportation, one week complimentary stay at the Doreale Grande Hotel, a VIP host and a free two-night safari to potentially see more wild animals than the sharks that will be at the tables.
The first WPT Alpha8 event was held at the end of August at the Seminole Hard Rock in Florida. The inaugural event was won by Steven Silverman for $891,660 and attracted a field of 21 entries.
