This past month, rumors were flying that Team PokerStars Pro member Vanessa Rousso was going to be the new co-host of the GSN poker show “High Stakes Poker.” While that TV gig ultimately went to Kara Scott, poker fans and others will be seeing Rousso’s face on their screens in the very near future, as she will be a member of the panel of judge’s on the new E! reality game show “Bank of Hollywood.”
Rousso broke the news of her involvement on her Twitter feed earlier this week and a write-up on the new show in the Hollywood Reporter confirmed that she would be a part of the Ryan Seacrest-produced show. Joining Rousso on the judging panel are Candy Spelling, Wilhemina Models President Sean Patterson, and Pussycat Dolls singer Melody Thornton.
The basic premise of the show rings similar to the NBC vehicle “Shark Tank,” but instead of business proposals, contestants come to the judges with more personal matters. “Bank of Hollywood” allows contestants to ask the celebrity panel for money for a variety of causes ranging from charity to personal gain. Participants in the upcoming show will be pleading for money for everything from an engagement ring for their fiancée to funds for charity. If the judges feel the cause is worthwhile, they will award the contestant with at least $2,000 from their own pockets.
Seacrest elaborated on the show to the Hollywood Reporter: “The idea’s simple. We are giving away tons of money to everyday people to alleviate the stress of today’s climate.” E! Executive Vice President of Programming Lisa Berger elaborated on Seacrest’s thoughts: “We’re giving real people the opportunity to garner life-changing sums of money and, at the same time, fulfilling our judges’ desire to make a difference in the lives of others – one person at a time.”
The eight-episode series will be hosted by comedian Bryan Callen, who has also appeared on shows like “Sex and the City,” “How I Met Your Mother,” and “Entourage.” The show is scheduled to premiere at 10:00pm ET on December 14th.
This is just the latest TV appearance for Rousso, who keeps developing an increasingly higher profile both inside and outside of the poker world. This past spring, she signed on as a spokesperson for GoDaddy.com and appeared in a PokerStars-sponsored spread in the 2009 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition. Rousso was also heavily featured on NBC’s 2009 National Heads-Up Poker Championship, where she finished as the runner-up to Huck Seed.
2009 has been a landmark year for Rousso on the tournament scene as well. In addition to her showing in the Heads-Up event, she also had a deep run at the Southern Poker Championship in Biloxi in February, a win at the European Poker Tour High Roller event in Monte Carlo in May, and four cashes at this summer’s World Series of Poker. She married longtime boyfriend Chad Brown this past spring.
“Bank of Hollywood” is the latest E! reality vehicle from Ryan Seacrest Productions. “Keeping Up with the Kardashians,” “Denis Richards: It’s Complicated,” and the recent “Leave it to Lamas” are just a few of the E! shows currently on the network’s lineup that are produced under the Seacrest banner.
