Dan Brandon Bilzerian (born December 7, 1980) is an
American professional poker player, actor and internet
social media personality.
Early life, family, and education
Dan Bilzerian was born in Tampa, Florida, to Paul Bilzerian
and Terri Steffen, and has a brother, Adam. He claims that
half of the Bilzerian family were killed during the Armenian
Genocide.[11] His father, who is of Armenian descent,[12]
[13] was a successful corporate raider on Wall Street and set
up large trust funds for both of his sons.[14][15][16]
A four-year Navy veteran, [17] Bilzerian entered the Navy
SEAL training program in 2000.[18] After several attempts,
he did not graduate the program. The reporter who
conducted the interview of Bilzerian for SOFREP.com
confirmed his participation in the SEAL program and stated
that according to his research Bilzerian was dropped "for a
safety violation on the shooting range".[18] After his military
career, Bilzerian enrolled at the University of Florida,
majoring in Business and Criminology.[19]
Career
Gambler
As a professional poker player, Bilzerian's most notable cash
was in the 2009 World Series of Poker Main Event, for which
he appeared on six episodes of the show's television
broadcast. He finished in 180th place and won $36,626.[20]
He is also a co-founder of Victory Poker, an online poker
room.[21] In 2010, he was voted one of the funniest poker
players on Twitter by Bluff Magazine.[22] On March 9, 2011,
Bilzerian raced fellow race car enthusiast and Supreme
Court Litigator Tom Goldstein for a wager of $385,000 at Las
Vegas Motor Speedway, with Bilzerian racing a 1965 AC
Cobra and Goldstein behind the wheel of a Ferrari 458 Italia.
Bilzerian won the race.[23]
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.[24] 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.[25]
Acting
Bilzerian appeared as a stuntman in the 2013 film Olympus
Has Fallen[26] and as Sr. Chief Healy in the 2013 film Lone
Survivor.[27] The following year he appeared in the films
The Other Woman, The Equalizer and Cat Run 2.[28]
Bilzerian will appear in the 2016 Bruce Willis film Extraction.
[29]
Promotions
Bilzerian was signed by online casino company bgo to front
their TV advertising campaign alongside Verne Troyer.[30]
Personal life
Starting in 2013, Bilzerian gained media attention from
photos posted on his Instagram account. Although as early
as 2012, website TheDirty.com founder Nik Richie began to
document Bilzerian's lifestyle via his website.[31] Because of
his lavish lifestyle and heavy drug abuse, he reportedly
suffered three heart attacks before the age of 32.[32]
In 2014, Bilzerian sued the producers of the film Lone
Survivor. His lawsuit states that although he loaned the
production of that film $1 million in exchange for a
minimum of eight minutes of screen time and 80 words of
dialogue, his role was reduced to less than one minute and
has just one line. His lawsuit demanded $1.2 million (the
original loan amount plus a 20 percent penalty).[27]
In December 2014, Bilzerian was embroiled in a legal matter
with pornographic actress Janice Griffith, whom he threw off
the roof of a house and into a pool as part of a photoshoot
for Hustler magazine in April 2014. She fell short of the pool,
hitting the edge, and broke her foot. Then, 18-year-old
Griffith asked Bilzerian for $85,000 for her injuries, which
was rejected. Later, Griffith filed a lawsuit against both
Hustler and Bilzerian to which Bilzerian's attorney
responded that Griffith was under contract for the event by
Hustler, that Hustler hired Bilzerian for the event, and that
Bilzerian was not at fault.[33] In January 2015, Hustler's
attorney claimed that the toss was an "act of God" and
stated that it was not the publisher's fault that Griffith
suffered injuries as a result.[34]
In August 2014, Bilzerian was banned from a Miami
nightclub for kicking model Vanessa Castano in the face
during a brawl. Bilzerian stated that Castano and another
woman attacked Bilzerian's female companion. Castano
stated, "There were two girls standing next to me at the table
that were fighting. People started getting shoved and I tried
to separate them. Then Dan pushed me off the banquette
and once I fell he kicked me in the face."[35] Castano later
filed a lawsuit against Bilzerian for her injuries.[36] It was
also reported that Castano has asked Bilzerian for US$1
million to settle the suit citing the possibility of greater
punitive damages based on his income if the suit went to
trial.[37]
On December 9, 2014, Bilzerian was arrested at Los Angeles
International Airport on unrelated bomb-making charges.
[38] According to the Los Angeles Police Department,
Bilzerian was arrested on a fugitive warrant from Nevada
and was booked at the LAPD's Pacific Division around 10
pm; "Bilzerian has been charged with violating a law making
it a crime to possess an explosive or incendiary device with
the intent to manufacture it."[39][40] He was released from
LAPD custody on the day of his arrest after charges were
dropped but is scheduled to be arraigned in January 2015 in
Clark County, Nevada.[41] In February 2015, Bilzerian pled
no contest to a misdemeanor charge of "negligently failing
to extinguish a fire in the open" and was fined $17,231.50.
[42][43]
Defamation lawsuit
In August 2015, The Money Zone (tmz.press) reported that
Dan Bilzerian had filed a defamation suit against a gossip
website known as TheDirty.com and its operator Nik Richie.
TMZ.press also reported that Bilzerian is complaining about
a comment a woman made on the site, "I ended up getting
super drunk and sleeping with Dan. I got tested two weeks
later and lucky me I found out he gave me chlamydia."
Bilzerian insists that he does not have any sexually
transmitted diseases.[44]
Philanthropy
In 2014, Bilzerian financially assisted Las Vegas foster
parents Brian and Nicole Hammond. The Hammonds are
foster parents to six special needs children. Bilzerian
learned of their plight via a YouTube video.[15]
Presidential candidacy
In June 2015, Bilzerian announced his bid to run for the
President of the United States in the 2016 election.[45][46]
SOURCES: Wikipedia & Instagram
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