Celebrity Poker: The Dream

Celebrities can develop their sense of social responsibility by playing poker. They can also help improve the awareness of people about the game of poker. These people can serve as good examples for the people who are watching them. Like singer The Dream who played poker to help people from Africa.

Celebrity poker player The Dream, with her girlfriend Christina Milian were spotted earlier this week at a Celebrity Charity Poker Tournament held in luxurious Monte-Carlo. Online casino poker site, PokerStars launched their first Ante Up for Africa charity poker tournament was held last night in Monaco on the eve of the European Poker Tour (EPT) Monte Carlo Grand Final. The live event raised €260,000 for the Darfur charities.

With a total of 40 runners put up €4,000 each to play in the massive fundraiser, creating a €160,000 prize pool that was donated to charity. PokerStars, which sponsored the Monaco tournament, donated another €100,000. In the end, Team PokerStars Pro member Isabelle Mercier emerged as its champion, defeating Teddy Sheringham. However, the grand prize package, a trip to the 2010 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, went to Sheringham, a British soccer player who was a member of the Manchester United in the late 1990s.

With the help of the poker icon Annie Duke, Don Cheadle, and Norman Epstein founded Ante Up for Africa 3 years ago. To date, it has helped raise over $2,000,000 for the cause, including $245,000 generated from NBC’s “Celebrity Apprentice”.

About The Dream: Terius Nash or simply “The Dream”, Born in North Carolina, Terius Nash was raised in the Bankhead section of Atlanta, Georgia. Before he found his calling in music, the industrious young man made ends meet doing everything from working at Checkers to becoming a collections agent.

After graduating from H.S., The Dream joined a singing group, Guess Who, signed by local rapper Raheem. They sang the hook to “Most Beautiful Girl,” which became moderately successful. “It did pretty good, got a lot of spins,” says The Dream. A few years later, The–Dream began writings songs for up–and–coming rappers and hooks for his peers. He got his first publishing deal in 2003, when he signed to Peer Music after writing B2K’s single, “Everything.” The song, off B2K’s platinum sophomore album, Pandemonium, truly put The–Dream on the map. “My grand daddy told me I would never make any money in this business. Music just wasn’t a reality for him. I never knew until I was 21 or 22 that I could actually be successful in the music business.” The Dream said.

With one success under his belt, Terius began to build momentum and soon found himself associating with the upper echelons of pop stardom. “A year after B2K I did the Britney Spears and Madonna record, I recorded vocals and wrote to that record after Tricky, the guy I did “Umbrella” with, decided he didn’t want the track anymore. I was the new guy in the building so I stayed overnight running in and out the booth recording myself in Pro Tools. Tricky and a writer before me, Penelope, went up to N.Y. [to meet] Britney. They played a lot of songs and Britney was like, I dunno. Then they got to “Me Against the Music” and she was like, “Oh, I’m digging that. I love that hook!” The Dream continued.

Unfortunately, that song didn’t push The–Dream to the level he wanted to reach. He spent two years working on other projects including Nivea’s second album, which he executive produced. “Trick and I just started making records. By the time we got to "Umbrella" we were like ‘ok, we got it.’” Dream insisted that L.A Reid hear the song and the rest is history.

Now The–Dream is finally in the building, combining all of his hit–making talents for his debut, Love Me All Summer, Hate Me All Winter. Throughout his career, Dream has seen people change like the weather, but in the coming months he is forecasting a 100% chance of reign.

Vanessa Rousso: The Lady Maverick

Vanessa “Lady Maverick” Rousso is currently completing her third year of law school and rank in the top 5 of her class at University of Miami School of Law. Vanessa Rousso is also the youngest woman poker professional to compete in the World Series Of Poker Final Event and one of the top 10 female money earners of all time on the World Series Of Poker (WSOP) and World Poker Tournament (WPT) circuits.



Vanessa Rousso also graduated in Duke University in 2 and a half years,ad now pusuing a law career. While her counterparts routinely pursue internships prior to law school graduation in order to gain practical legal experience, Vanessa spends summers traveling the country to compete in professional poker tournaments.

How she dealt with it? In April 2006, she finished a law school exam, hustle and bustle to the airport, arrived within seconds of missing her flight, and flew to Las Vegas, Nevada, to take part in the World Poker Tour World Championships. Vanessa Rousso not only aced the law school exam, but she also finished seventh in the World Poker Tour World Championships.

With less than 3 years of professional play behind her, Vanessa Rousso has already earned close to $2 million playing at live poker tournament and at online poker site. while earning a law degree on the side. Vanessa Ruosso earned more than $680,000 in 2005 on the World Series of Poker and World Poker Tour circuits. She is also in the 7th palce in a field of more than 600 of the World's top professionals at the World Poker Tour Championship event.

This poker hottie has won 4 World Series of Poker (WSOP) events, including an 8th place finish in this year's $5,000 event. Most recently, she finished in 1st place at the World Poker Tour Borgata Open, winning almost $300,000.

She also cashed the ladies event in 45th place, and picked up an extra couple of grand when she won one of the Palms' Daily Tournaments. In the fall Vanessa returned to law school, and played poker whenever she had a chance either online or traveling to small buy-in tournaments on breaks. She made 3 cashes and 2 final tables in early 2006, her biggest score coming in the $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Event at Atlantic City's Wold Series Of Poker-Circuit stop where she banked $17,550. That's when Vanessa Rousso got a funny idea in her head — she wanted to play in the $25,000 World Poker Tour Championships. Vanessa Rousso ground her way to a 7th place finish and a $263,625 score, busting on the TV final-table bubble when Vanessa's A-K fell to James Van Alstyne's A-J.

In EPT Monte Carlo Grand Final High Roller last May 1, 2009, she outlasted other poker pros and even celebrities to elevate in the 1st place and take home $946, 696. Her undisputed performance at Bellagio wowed everyone and soon she was given out to be part as a member of The PokerStars' Team and also signed as the newest Go Daddy girl and will be joining the most dominant domain name registrar in the world.

With her renowned success, she is now a volunteer of Toys and Tales, Walk for the Cure, the Palm Beach Youth Court, the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and the Center for Race Relations at Duke University. She is also an instructor for the World Poker Tour Boot Camp.

A woman winning the World Series is just a matter of time, she maintains, as the number of skilled female poker hotties in the biggest action continues to elevate. The fact is, Vanessa says, women at poker tables tend to be viewed through a filter of faulty perceptions. "Women are perceived as very tight players, that we can't bluff, but the fact is we've been bluffing for centuries. We're better at it than you guys . . .And so the best women players can use this misconception or stereotype to their advantage."

Vanessa Rousso's Photos