Dan Brandon Bilzerian[11] (born December 7, 1980)[12] is an American actor, poker player and trust fund beneficiary.[13] In late 2013 he became a social media sensation for posting pictures of his lavish lifestyle on Instagram.[14]

Early life

Dan Bilzerian was born in Florida to Paul Bilzerian and Terri Steffen. His father is of Armenian descent.[15][16] Bilzerian has a brother, Adam.

Bilzerian entered the Navy SEAL training program but failed to complete it.[17][18] After his military career, Bilzerian enrolled at the University of South Florida, majoring in Business and Criminology.[19]

Gambling career

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]

Film and television career

Bilzerian appeared as a stunt person in the 2013 film Olympus Has Fallen.[26] Bilzerian appears as Sr. Chief Healy in the 2013 film Lone Survivor.[27]

The following year he appeared in the films The Other Woman and The Equalizer.[28]

Bilzerian was signed by online casino company bgo to front their TV advertising campaign alongside Verne Troyer.[29]

Legal matters

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 May 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. Griffith fell slightly short of the pool, and broke her foot. Janice Griffith sued Bilzerian for $85,000 for her injured foot. 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.[30]

In August 2014 Bilzerian was banned from a Miami nightclub for kicking a woman in the face during a brawl. Bilzerian stated that the woman in question and another woman attacked Bilzerian's female companion. In contrast, the woman Bilzerian kicked 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 both off the banquette and once I fell he kicked me in the face."[31]

On December 9, 2014, Bilzerian was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport on unrelated bomb-making charges and is currently being held without bail.[32] 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; "Bilerzian has been charged with violating a law making it a crime to possess an explosive or incendiary device with the intent to manufacture it."[33][34]

References

External links[edit]

• Dan Bilzerian at the Internet Movie Database
• Dan Bilzerian on Twitter
• Dan Bilzerian on Instagram