Dan Bilzerian - Misplaced Pages

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by PickleG13 (talk | contribs) at 07:53, 20 September 2020 (Politics section not all political; merging with Personal life and subdividing). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Revision as of 07:53, 20 September 2020 by PickleG13 (talk | contribs) (Politics section not all political; merging with Personal life and subdividing)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)

American poker player and Instagramer

Dan Bilzerian
Bilzerian in 2019
Born	Daniel Brandon Bilzerian (1980-12-07) December 7, 1980 (age 44) Tampa, Florida, U.S.
Other names	"Blitz"
Citizenship	United States (1980–present) Armenia (2018–present)
Alma mater	University of Tampa
Parent(s)	Paul Bilzerian Terri Steffen
Relatives	Adam Bilzerian (brother)

Daniel Brandon Bilzerian (born December 7, 1980) is an American actor, Internet personality, professional poker player, and Instagrammer.

Early life

Bilzerian was born on December 7, 1980 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 on Wall Street who set up trust funds for both of his sons to live on. Bilzerian subsequently enrolled at the University of Florida, majoring in Business and Criminology.

Poker career

Bilzerian played in the 2008 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 was one of those sued over debt of honor winnings they had been paid in no-contract poker games by Tobey Maguire.

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." Bilzerian has featured on Joe Rogan's podcast on social media platform Youtube explaining the run up to his poker career.

Business ventures

Bilzerian runs the company Ignite International Brands Ltd., which sells electronic cigarettes, CBD oils, water bottles and vodka, among other products. Ignite is a public company, headquartered in Toronto, Canada, that began trading in January 2019 under the BILZF ticker. The company reportedly lost over $50 million in 2019, mostly on marketing and office rental expenses.

Controversies

Legal issues

In 2014, Bilzerian sued the producers of the film Lone Survivor. His lawsuit states that although he lent 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). The lawsuit was later dropped with Bilzerian having garnered much publicity and reportedly making $1.5 million on his investment due to the film's commercial success.

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." Castano later filed a lawsuit against Bilzerian for her injuries. 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.

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. The 18-year-old Griffith asked Bilzerian for $85,000 for her injuries, which was rejected. She then 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. 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.

On December 9, 2014, Bilzerian was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport on unrelated bomb-making charges. 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." He was released from LAPD custody on the day of his arrest after charges were dropped but was scheduled to be arraigned in January 2015 in Clark County, Nevada. In February 2015, Bilzerian pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of "negligently failing to extinguish a fire in the open" and was fined $17,231.50.

In July 2020, former Ignite president Curtis Heffernan sued Bilzerian for wrongful termination after Heffernan was fired for what he claims was pointing out Bilzerian's misappropriation of company funds for his personal expenses.

Las Vegas shooting

On October 1, 2017, Bilzerian was present at the Las Vegas shooting and filmed himself several times that evening, posting his videos to Instagram. In the first, he described the shooting as he was fleeing to safety; in the second, he stated that "had to go grab a gun. I'm f---ing headed back." In his final two videos, he was heading home, stating "I don't think there's much I can do."

He was widely criticized for his actions. Later, other videos of him that night appeared. One showed him searching a police car and another showed him running back towards the shooter before asking police for a gun and being refused one.

Dubious wealth claims

Bilzerian claims that his wealth is the outcome of a successful gambling career. These statements, however, show very little ground, if any. On the contrary, evidence shows that his performances in high-stakes games are as low as low as his poker skills, rising reasonable doubts about the origin of his money, as the professional poker player Doug Polk affirmed . The only cogent explanation is that the alleged gambler inherited the money raided by his father, Paul Bilzerian during his criminal career in the 1980s from a trust set up to become accessible as soon as Dan turned 30. As Vice reports "SEC filings also show that Paul Bilzerian established an irrevocable trust for his two children, Dan and his younger brother Adam (who is also a well-known poker player). In 2001, a judge noted that this trust was one of many means through which Paul "appear to be attempting to hide his assets." A Paul Bilzerian bankruptcy judgment, also from 2001, indicated that in 1997, the Bilzerian sons' trust was worth roughly $11.96 million in Cimetrix stock. Dan was entitled to half of that.". Many of the properties Bilzerian claims to own are, in fact, rented by using the money of Ignite International Ltd, as Forbes reports: "The house and everything else — the models, the flights, the yachts, etc. — is charged to the corporate tab of Ignite International Ltd., the company Bilzerian founded and serves as CEO and majority shareholder, according to Curtis Heffernan, Ignite’s recently ousted former president. Paying Dan Bilzerian’s $2.4 million annual rent, and paying for everything else Dan Bilzerian does, would be one explanation for how Ignite managed to lose a reported $50 million last year." . For these reasons, a lawsuit has been lately filed against Bilzerian and "serious concerns of financial fraud" were raised .

Personal life

Bilzerian splits his time between homes in Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles, California and Las Vegas, Nevada. He moved to Bel Air, Los Angeles from Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles.

On March 9, 2011, Bilzerian raced and beat Tom Goldstein for a wager of $385,000 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, with Bilzerian racing a 1967 AC Cobra and Goldstein behind the wheel of a Ferrari 458 Italia.

Due to his drug abuse, Bilzerian reportedly suffered two heart attacks before the age of 32.

In October 2016, American rapper T-Pain released a song named after Dan Bilzerian.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2013	Olympus Has Fallen		Uncredited
2013	Lone Survivor	Healy	Uncredited
2014	The Other Woman	Handsome Man at Bar	Uncredited
2014	The Equalizer	Teddy's Guy
2014	Cat Run 2	Cordray
2015	Extraction	Higgins
2016	War Dogs	Himself	Uncredited cameo