If you are a well-known poker player who has something valuable to sell, it looks like this is the right time to put your items on the market. Peter Eastgate put up a World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet, as did Eskimo Clark. Now, Team PokerStars pro Vanessa Rousso is offering up her yellow 2007 Lamborghini Gallardo on eBay.
Rousso purchased the sports car last year as a treat for herself with her poker winnings. In a video interview with CardPlayer, the GoDaddy Girl said that she had been planning the purchase since she was teenager. Even though she could afford to pay the sticker price for the vehicle, she was smart and bought it used, benefiting from the depreciation in value in its first year.
And for those who think the sale is a sign that she is “busto,” think again. In the video, she said that she figured she could resell the Lamborghini in a year for about what she paid for it, so to her, it was like driving the luxury ride for free for a year.
The car is not up for auction, but rather for a fixed price of $126,500 via eBay’s “Buy it Now” option. Celebrity Cars Las Vegas, which is the exotic auto dealer that is facilitating the sale for Rousso, is also allowing interested buyers to negotiate through the “Make Offer” alternative. A $500 deposit is required within 48 hours of when the sale closes. Not sure about whether you can afford it? You have plenty of time to wrangle up the cash, as the listing does not end until December 17th unless someone buys the car first.
Rousso is the third owner of the 2007 Lamborghini Gallardo, which has been driven just 12,875 miles. Under the hood is a five-liter, V10 engine and the transmission is selectable – either automatic or a special six-speed manual “E-Gear.” The interior is black leather with yellow stitching. It is equipped with everything one would expect in a six-figure luxury automobile like a navigation system, rear view camera, heated seats, and a dual zone climate control.
This model originally retailed for $180,050 and Rousso’s asking price seems to be in line with the market. Seeing as how there were only 5,000 Lamborghini Gallardos produced in 2007, it is not easy to find comparable listings, but similar models are for sale around the world for about the same price.
In her live tournament career, Rousso has won over two-and-a-half million dollars. The highlights include a win in the 2009 European Poker Tour Grand Final High Roller Championship ($749,467), a runner-up finish to Huck Seed two months earlier in the 2009 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship ($250,000), a victory in a $5,000 No Limit Hold’em event at the 2006 World Poker Tour (WPT) Borgata Poker Open ($285,450), and a seventh place finish in the 2006 WPT Championship ($263,625).
She has also had great success online, including a $700,000 payday when she placed second in the 2007 PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker Main Event.
Eastgate auctioned off his one-of-a-kind WSOP Main Event bracelet for $147,500, having set the minimum bid at $16,000. The proceeds were used to benefit UNICEF. Shortly before Eastgate’s auction ended, a bracelet won by Clark found its way to the world’s largest online auction site. Clark won the bracelet in a $1,500 Razz event at the 1999 WSOP.
A long time ago, my young son died of lukemia. I was working in finance/IB at that time and was making a tremendous amount of money. I bought whatever I wanted, indulged whatever whimsy I had. My life became the ‘standard western life’, all about things and acquisition and status and ‘thrills’.
When he died, it all shifted on a dime. I looked around at the things I owned- stupid “things” that I allowed to define who I was as a human being- and while not ‘disgusted’ by them, came to realize in a sudden wave of regret just how little it all meant. We run around spending our time building castles meant to impress other people, at the expense of spending time on the things that really matter.
I don’t know Vanessa personally, but based on the trajectory of my own life experience, I wonder if the news about her husbands illness didn’t cause her to arrive at a similar conclusion. When you find yourself knee-deep in a situation like that, all the ostentatious emblems that used to represent your old way of thinking cease being relevant to your life- matter of fact, you will usually want to see them gone, acknowledge the error of your ways and immediately start living better.
Me? I sold our place in Connecticut, sold my Benz, got rid of the Pateks and Audemars, moved to a rural area in the midwest, bought some acreage, a pickup truck and have been raising my family the right way. Thank god I learned what really mattered, but the price I paid to acquire that knowledge was immense.
It’s entirely possible that the battle Vanessa and Chad have in front of them- a battle I sincerely believe they will meet and conquer- changed their minds about Lamborghinis and if this is the case, let me tell you… You guys are going to be SO much better for it.
^ Nah, she’s probably just running really badly and has to sell something to gain losses.