The poker pro is set to try her acting chops in the drama series
One of the most successful tournament poker players ever, Vanessa Selbst is the all-time female earnings leader with almost $10.9 million in lifetime cashes. The 39-year-old Yale Law graduate leads the second-ranked female by $3.6 million (Kristen Bicknell – $7,255,874), although she retired from playing full-time five years ago.
Selbst will add another accomplishment to her impressive resume on Friday, September 22, when she’ll make her acting debut in a cameo on the award-winning Showtime drama Billions. The show stars Paul Giamatti and Damian Lewis and is currently in its seventh and final season.
This isn’t the first time poker has been part of the show’s storyline. Poker Hall of Famer and all-time WSOP bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth was featured in season 2, episode 3, entitled ‘Optimal Play.’
The episode was about a charity poker tournament where hedge fund manager Bobby ‘Axe’ Axelrod recruits a rising poker star to represent his company in the event. Tyler Mason wins the tournament after making a dramatic hero call against a rival fund manager. The story was supposedly based on Stu Ungar’s famous hand he played at the 1992 WSOP main event.
Selbst is part of a growing list of top poker pros appearing in mainstream media. Before Hellmuth, 10-time WSOP bracelet winner Johnny Chan had a scene in the movie Rounders, and six-time bracelet winner Daniel Negreanu had a short cameo in X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
This Billions episode will debut on Paramount+ on Friday, September 22, and airs again on SHOWTIME on Sunday, September 24, at 8:00 PM Eastern and Pacific time.
Emma Rodriguez is the Proofreader at the Big Blind, with seven years of experience and five years in online gambling. She plays a crucial role in maintaining content quality by ensuring error-free, reader-friendly information about the gambling industry.
