Dan Brandon Bilzerian was born on December 7, 1980, is an Armenian-American internet personality and gambler who is best known for his lavish lifestyle. Bilzerian was born in Tampa, Florida, the son of corporate takeover specialist Paul Bilzerian and Terri Steffen. He is the brother of fellow poker player Adam Bilzerian. He is of Armenian descent through his father. His father was a corporate raider in Wall Street who set up trust funds for both of his sons. Bilzerian entered the Navy SEAL training program in 2000; however, after several attempts, he did not graduate. He was reportedly dropped from the program for a "safety violation on the shooting range." Bilzerian subsequently enrolled at the University of Florida, majoring in Business and Criminology.
Bilzerian played in the 2009 World Series of Poker Main Event, finishing in 180th place. In 2010, he was voted one of the funniest poker players on Twitter by Bluff Magazine. In November 2011, Bilzerian, along with ten others including actors Tobey Maguire, Nick Cassavetes, and Gabe Kaplan, were asked to pay back winnings that they had won in poker games against Ponzi scheme operator Bradley Ruderman after Ruderman was sentenced to prison, to help pay back some of the victims Ruderman had stolen from over his criminal career.
That same year, Bilzerian defended Alex Rodriguez publicly against accusations that he had gambled illegally, claiming that he was present when the alleged gambling event had taken place and Rodriguez was not present. In November 2013, Bilzerian posted an unconfirmed claim that he won $10.8 million from a single night of playing poker, and in 2014 he claimed to have won $50 million throughout the year, adding that he "doesn't play against professionals anymore and the most he's ever lost in a single session is $3.6 million."
Worth $100 million Dan Bilzerian is a high stakes poker player who makes his living off of taking risks. Surrounded by liquor, luxury and women Bilzerian lives his life in luxury.
Here are some strange facts you didn’t know about Dan Bilzerian.
Bilzerian struggles with serious heart troubles, and not the fun, romantic kind either. While his lifestyle may look like a blast on social media it takes a serious toll on his health. He suffered his first heart attack when he was just 25. And 7 years later was on his third. That might worry most people. But not him! Bilzerian checked out of the hospital before doctors had cleared him. And then tweeted, asking his millions of followers to bet on whether or not he’d die.
Playing poker isn’t the only way Bilzerian has made a living. During his time in college, he was making $90,000 a week playing poker. But there’s a difference between making money and being able to keep it. A victim to his own arrogance he quickly became bankrupt and actually had to sell his gun collection. However, Bilzerian ended up selling his $750 worth collection for over $10,000. It was this money he took to Vegas. Soon he’d turned that sum into $187,000.
In December 2014 Bilzerian was arrested under charges of possession of explosives with intent to manufacture a bomb. But you know what they say. When you’re rich enough you can buy anything. With his team of lawyers, Bilzerian cut a deal and got off scot-free. In the end, he only had to pay $20,000 for blowing up his truck on public land.
In December 2014 Bilzerian was arrested under charges of possession of explosives with intent to manufacture a bomb. But you know what they say. When you’re rich enough you can buy anything. With his team of lawyers, Bilzerian cut a deal and got off scot-free. In the end, he only had to pay $20,000 for blowing up his truck on public land.
If you ask him Bilzerian puts his net worth at around $100 million. But other high stakes poker players think this might not be the truth. Since he has never won more than $3 million at a single game. Not to mention his expensive lifestyle and history with bankruptcy and mismanagement of wealth. A lot of people even accuse him of renting his mansion and cars in an attempt to appear richer than he is.
Paul Bilzerian was a rich private equity trader in the 1980s who owned a robotics company and several businesses. He was arrested for stock fraud when Dan was 10 years old.
As a child, Bilzerian didn’t do well in school. He was also bullied because of his father’s imprisonment and corruption. Things got so bad he had to change schools twice. And one of those times was because he got expelled for outrageous behavior. When he joined the military, a similar pattern continued when he got into confrontational situations with his senior officers. According to him, they were prejudiced against him because of his father’s stint in prison.
The way Bilzerian treats women is pretty insane. He’s recorded as having employed women just to stroke his beard while he plays poker. And another time for hiring bare-chested bow-tied women cut his hair. His instability doesn’t stop there though. Desperate to make an impression in Hustler magazine Bilzerian threw a model off his roof and into a swimming pool. But she ended up breaking her ankle on the side of the pool. In 2014 he was accused of kicking model Vanessa Castano.
At one point in his life, Bilzerian tried to join the Navy. He actually managed to reach Day 510 in Navy Seal training and scored high on his military exam. But then he got into a dispute with his commanding officer and was kicked out of the program.
Bilzerian has tried to reach success in a variety of ways. His failed career in the film industry ended with the movie Lone Survivor. He invested $1 million in the film in exchange for 80 words and 8 minutes on screen. But then finished product only had 1 line and less than a minute of screen time. He made back his million from the film but realized he didn’t have what it took to make it in Hollywood.
