Dan Bilzerian is perhaps the richest and most famous person associated with poker – but not for his poker. Often referred to as ‘The King of Instagram’, Bilzerian is most famous for flaunting his luxurious playboy lifestyle of girls, guns and money.
His life exists somewhere between ‘well documented’ and ‘infamous secrecy’ – and what you’re about to read is a summary of the different versions out there. This is the crazy story of poker’s biggest playboy.
We’ve also made this blog post as a video, if you’d rather watch than read.
Early Life
Daniel Brandon Bilzerian was born on December 7 of 1980 in Tampa, Florida. He is the son of Paul Bilzerian, an Armenian American businessman who amassed an immense fortune as a corporate takeover specialist. Dan and his brother Adam was born into wealth but didn’t see their father much, as he was often on business trips or stuck working late at the office.
Their life drastically changed however, when Paul was convicted of security and tax fraud. On top of serving 13 months in prison, Paul was ordered to disgorge his earnings and later declared bankruptcy. What exactly happened to Pauls Bilzerian’s enormous wealth is still unclear, but both Dan and Adam had trust funds, and many believe this to be the source of Dan Bilzerian’s fortune.
This all seemed to spill into Dan Bilzerian’s life, as he became somewhat of a problem child, often getting into fist fights and later being expelled from his school. He had a new start at a different school but was ordered to finish his senior year at home for bringing a machine gun to school.
After finishing High School, Dan joined the navy in pursuit of becoming a Navy SEAL. He performed really well but was once again stopped right before the finish line as he was discharged for fighting with one of his officers and had to leave the program.
Dan Bilzerian then enrolled at the University of Florida where he spent 4 years studying Business and Criminology. Whether he graduated or not is still center of speculation, but it seems this is where Dan first picked up an interest in poker. He no longer had access to his trust fund, and after selling his collection of guns he turned to poker in order to finance his time at school.
Poker Life and Winnings
Although Dan Bilzerian is a famous poker player, he hasn’t appeared in a lot of public tournaments. His first major appearance was back in 2009 where he took part in the World Series of Poker Main Event, playing against professional poker players like Phil Ivey. Bilzerian finished 180th and collected a prize of $36,000.
His performance at the 2009 WSOP led to him signing a sponsorship with Victory Poker. An online card room that is no longer in operation. Dan Bilzerian allegedly received $1,000,000 from the company for wearing their name on a t-shirt for all the tournaments he competed in that year. He was also featured in the company’s numerous online videos
But Dan Bilzerian reportedly dedicates most of his time and focus to private, high stakes, cash games with billionaires and is alleged to have turned a $750 investment into more than $187,000 in a single game. Not a bad turnaround. He has also once claimed to have put all of his net worth into one game – and won big.
In the year 2015, Dan hosted a poker tournament to raise money for brain research. The tournament took place in his Las Vegas home and had a buy-in of $1000. The tournament drew in a lot of famous people like Vin Diesel and raised over $100,000 for brain research.
According to Dan himself, the most he has ever lost in a single game of poker is 3,6 million dollars. There’s also stories about Bilzerian betting 2,3 million dollars worth of chips on a single coin toss – and losing.
Dan Bilzerian’s total net worth is reported to be a staggering 200 million dollars and according to himself, 50 million of that is from playing poker.
The Bilzerian Lifestyle
Although Dan claims to be killing it at the private cash games, he is most known for everything outside the game of poker. Cars, guns, girls and parties – the crazy stories just keep coming. The man is still in his 30’s but has already had 3 heart attacks. This should be an indication of the crazy lifestyle of the multi millionaire poker playboy.
Bilzerian owns multiple real estate, but his price jewel is his 65 million dollar home in Bel Air, Los Angeles. This 31,000 square feet party pad is no doubt the party pad of the 21st century (Sorry Playboy Mansion). The house was named ‘The Most Expensive House in the US’ back in 2017. For more details on Dan Bilzerian’s home, take a look at this video.
No doubt Bilzerian owns some impressive real estate, but he also needs a lot of space to store his massive collection of cars and guns. And then there’s the girls. Dan Bilzerian’s life seems to be an endless sea of beautiful, half naked, women – dusins at the time. His Instagram has more models than Playboy and Victoria’s Secret put together and this seems to be the biggest factor of his fame.
There’s no doubt this aspect of the modern day Hugh Hefner raises controversy, and Dan has addressed it openly numerous times – like in this interview from 2019.
The Many Controversies
With a guy as controversial and famous as Dan Bilzerian, you would expect some controversy as well. And Dan’s life definitely isn’t lacking in this department either. It’s pretty much an endless string of controversy, but let’s focus on just three of them.
The best-known incident came during a 2014 Hustler photoshoot, when Bilzerian threw model Janice Griffith from a roof towards a swimming pool. The throw fell short, she struck the edge of the pool and broke her foot, and the episode ended in litigation. It is the moment most people cite when his name comes up.
Bilzerian was also caught up in the 2011 story around a series of private, high-stakes celebrity poker games said to have involved names such as Tobey Maguire, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, where millions changed hands. One of the losing players, Bradley Ruderman, turned out to be funding his losses with money taken from investors and was later convicted. A pile of lawsuits followed as those involved tried to recover funds.
In October 2017 Bilzerian was present at the Las Vegas shooting. He posted a number of videos to his Instagram account that night, including one in which he approaches a police car and asks officers for a gun. He was widely criticized for his conduct and for filming during the attack.
Ignite
Dan Bilzerian moved away from poker and into business by creating ‘Ignite’ – a company which sells electronic cigarettes, CBD related products, water bottles and vodka, among other things. It began trading back in January of 2019 and has its official headquarters in Toronto, Canada. The company is probably best known for its over-the-top launch parties that obviously seek to give the attendees a glimpse into the lifestyle they see on Dan’s Instagram. DJs, models, celebrities and enough alcohol to intoxicate a small country.
Perhaps for this reason, the company reportedly lost around $50 million in 2019, mostly on marketing and office rental.
By early 2020 Ignite carried a valuation of around $52 million, buoyed by a rising CBD market and investor hopes that the pandemic would lift sales. Sales did rise across the sector – but not enough for Ignite. Later that year the company’s former chief financial officer, Curtis Heffernan, filed a wrongful-dismissal claim alleging that company funds had been spent on Bilzerian’s personal lifestyle, itemising things like his housing costs, a Bahamas photoshoot and social media promotion. Those figures are allegations made in a legal filing rather than established findings, and Bilzerian disputed them.
Bilzerian downplayed the losses by comparing Ignite to Uber, which ran at a loss for years before turning a profit. But in October 2020 CannMart, one of Ignite’s main Canadian distributors, ended its partnership, and the stock slid from $1.44 to $0.36. What had been pitched as a billion-dollar lifestyle brand was, by the end of that year, a company whose ability to continue trading was openly being questioned.
Disputed Wealth Claims
Bilzerian says his fortune came from private poker games against billionaires, but that claim has never been independently verified and plenty of people in the poker world are sceptical. His father, corporate raider Paul Bilzerian, was ordered in the 1990s to repay more than $30 million in illegal profits to the SEC, and set up trusts for his sons. Commentators have long speculated that family money, rather than poker, explains the lifestyle – though that remains speculation, and Bilzerian himself rejects it.
Dan Bilzerian for President
Back in 2015 Dan Bilzerian announced his intention to run for President in the 2016 election. In classic Bilzerian fashion, the “presidential campaign” amounted to five appearances at nightclubs. In December 2015 Dan officially cancelled his candidacy and instead endorsed Donald Trump, who went on to win the election.
The “King of Instagram” later floated the idea of running again in 2024, hoping to lean on his enormous following, though no campaign materialised. From the looks of it, the White House would have been a considerable step down from his current housing situation.
What’s in Store for Dan Bilzerian?
By his own account, Bilzerian is pretty much done with professional poker. At the time he expected Ignite to gross billions and said he hoped to give a large share of it away. He published an autobiography, The Setup, in 2021, which covers his version of most of the above.
On December 3rd 2020, Dan Bilzerian was announced as the newest brand ambassador for GGPoker, representing the brand both live and online. According to the brands own website, Bilzerian will be working with GG to make cash games better for the average poker player out there.
Are You the Next Bilzerian?
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Want More Poker Player Stories?
We’re constantly adding new stories of interesting poker players – like Daniel Negreanu, who went from high school dropout to Kid Poker, or Doyle Brunson, the Godfather of Poker. There’s also Chris Moneymaker, the amateur who beat the pros, Doug Polk and Mike Sexton.
Or the one about “the Great Dane”, Gus Hansen, who went from the top of the poker world to a record-breaking run of losses reported at around $20,000,000. He also features in our tribute to the top Danish poker players.
If you have a suggestion for a story you’d like to read, or something to add to this one, reach out to us. Thank you.
Dan Bilzerian FAQ
Who is Dan Bilzerian?
Dan Bilzerian is an American social media personality and poker player known as the “King of Instagram”. He built an enormous following on a lifestyle of private jets, mansions and high-stakes cash games, and later founded the brand Ignite.
How much has Dan Bilzerian won at poker?
Nobody outside his circle really knows. Bilzerian says he has won enormous sums in private cash games against wealthy amateurs, but private games leave no public record, and his recorded tournament results are modest. The figures he quotes have never been independently verified.
Where does Dan Bilzerian’s money come from?
He says it comes from poker. Others point to his father, corporate raider Paul Bilzerian, who set up trusts for his sons. Both accounts circulate widely and neither has been publicly proven, so it remains one of poker’s more persistent arguments.
What is Ignite, Dan Bilzerian’s company?
Ignite International Brands is the company Bilzerian founded, selling vapes, CBD products, water and spirits. It began trading publicly in January 2019, reported heavy losses, and became the subject of disputes over how company money was spent.
How can I play poker with friends today?
EasyPoker lets you create a private poker table from your phone, share a 4-digit game PIN and play with friends using digital cards and chips.
