Dan Bilzerian is an American-Armenian actor, businessman, poker player, and social media influencer. He is the son of the corporate takeover specialist and convicted felon Paul Bilzerian.
Wiki/Biography
Daniel Brandon Bilzerian was born on Sunday, December 7, 1980 (age 40 years; as of 2020), in Tampa, Florida. After his father went to prison, he had a difficult time coping with his situation and got expelled from his high schools two years in a row. After his family moved to Utah, he continued his studies at a high school there but was expelled a few weeks before his graduation for bringing a machine gun to school (the gun was of his father from the Vietnam War); he even ended up in jail. The jail was not the worst thing that happened because he was thrown out of Utah with a pledge that he’d never return. Under the care of drill instructors, he joined the US Naval Academy and later went for SEAL training for 502 days and two-hell weeks; he broke his leg from the first hell-week. After his second unsuccessful attempt for SEAL, he dropped out permanently. He said,
I completed hell week in 229, got rolled then dropped 3 weeks after for compound stress fractures. Went back in 238, made it 2 days before graduation on the island and, got rolled back to the beginning of the second phase with 239, got a couple of weeks before graduation and got admin dropped for no real good reason.”
Dan Bilzerian during his navy days
He then went on to do Majors in Business and Criminology at the University of Florida, which was funded by a $6,000-a-month ‘disability allowance as a veteran’ at Navy that he qualified for after his injuries and honorable discharge. While pursuing his graduation, he got involved in poker and quit his degree. According to Dan,
Some weeks I was making, like, $90,000, so I’m looking at these professors, thinking, what am I doing here?”
Physical Appearance
Height : 5′ 9½”
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Green
Family & Ethnicity
He is of Armenian origin and his ancestors pulled through the Armenian Genocide (1914-23), the mass murder of ethnic Armenians during World War I that took place in Turkey and adjoining regions by the Ottoman government. His forefathers migrated to the United States in the early 20th century.
Parents & Siblings
His father, Paul Bilzerian, is a corporate takeover specialist and his mother’s name is Terri Steffen. His brother, Adam Bilzerian, is a poker player and writer.
Dan Bilzerian with his brother, father, and nephews
Dan Bilzerian with his mother
Relationships
Dan has a reputation for being in a relationship with multiple women at a time; his relationships usually do not last for long.
Dan Bilzerian with his girlfriends
For three years in Las Vegas, he dated Jessa Hilton, a lifestyle blogger, and model.
Dan Bilzerian with Jessa Hinton
He was once in a relationship with the women like Sofia Beverly (model), Leidy Amelia Labrador (model), Corin Jamie-Lee Clark (model), Morgan Hultgren, Chloe Othen (model), Tawny Jordan (ring girl and Model), Katie Bell, Lauren Blake (fitness promoter), Desiree Schlotz (rumored), Lindsey Nicole Pelas (social media influencer and model), and Suelyn Medeiros.
Sofia Bevarly
Leidy Amelia Labrador
Corin Jamie-Lee Clark
Dan Bilzerian with Chloe Othen
Dan Bilzerian with Katie Bell
Lauren Blake
Desiree Schlotz
Lindsey Nicole Pelas
Suelyn Medeiros
Career
Poker
When he was in the navy, he started gambling. In the first year of his graduation, he began playing poker. According to him,
I used to beat the shit out of my roommate and force him to sign onto his poker act at 2am and ritually busted it before sunrise. Then every morning end up writing him a check for the lost sum and berate him for letting him play. After pissing away my college drinking money I was forced to play a little tighter and am now a winning player.”
When he went to the second year, he was broke and sold his guns at $750 to play poker. In his words,
I turned those $750 to $10,000 and bought a one-way ticket to Las Vegas and turned that $10,000 into $187,000.”
In 2008, Dan, along with his brother, participated in the World Series of Poker and placed 108th position winning $36,000. Talking about it to a magazine, he said,
I wanted to kill myself.”
Dan Bilzerian playing poker with his brother
He then started getting attention from high stakes poker players and even bagged a sponsorship deal with Victory Poker, a now-defunct online cardroom. This led him to the first public stunts that include Dan putting a bet of $400,000 on a drag race with his lawyer and him swimming through an alligator-filled lake at midnight. According to Dan, $10.8 million is the biggest amount he has won in a single night of poker and $3.6 million is the biggest amount he has lost on three separate occasions. He claims that he does not play professionally anymore. In 2020, he signed as the brand ambassador of GGPoker, an online poker room.
Dan Bilzerian as the brand ambassdor of GGPoker
Ignite
In 2018, Dan founded Ignite International Brands Ltd., a global lifestyle company headquartered in Los Angeles, California, selling products like electronic cigarettes, CBD oils, water bottles, beverages, and apparel. In January 2019, the company expanded in the UK and Mexico and then in the middle east and Canada. In 2020, the company reportedly lost over $50 million in 2019, mostly on marketing and office rental expenses of Dan.
Logo of Ignite
Films
In 2013, he made his film debut as a stunt performer in ‘Olympus Has Fallen.’
He made his acting debut with the American film ‘Lone Survivor’ (2013) in which he played the role of ‘SCPO Daniel R. Healy.’
Dan Bilzerian in Lone Survivor (2013)
Dan has also appeared in the films The Other Women (2014), Cat Run 2 (2014), The Equalizer (2014), Extraction (2015), and War Dogs (2015).
Controversies
- In July 2020, former Ignite president Curtis Heffernan criticized Dan for his misappropriation of the company’s fund for his lavish lifestyle. He called him out for registering his expenses (that included $15,000 for a ping pong table, $40,000 for a rock-climbing wall, and $130,340 for a Bahamian photoshoot) on the company’s tab. Following this, Curtis was thrown out of his office and he sued Dan for wrongful termination.
Curtis Heffernan
- In August 2018, during his visit to Armenia to obtain his passport for Armenian citizenship, he also went to a shooting range in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. He fired weapons there, which was seen as a violation of laws by the government of Azerbaijan, who sent a note of protest to the senior American diplomat over Dan’s actions. The note of protest stated,
It was brought to the notice of the senior American diplomat that Bilzerian had violated the law of Azerbaijan on the state border and the country’s Migration Code as, without presenting relevant documents, bypassing our checkpoints, he entered the occupied territories of Azerbaijan. Dan Bilzerian illegally acquired firearms and for provocative purposes demonstratively opened fire on the positions of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces. We also informed the American diplomat that this person was making insulting and immoral statements on camera affecting the dignity and moral values of the Azerbaijani people and contradicting the spirit of friendly relations between Azerbaijan and the United States.”
After the note of protest was sent to the States, a criminal case was filed against Dan, and a court in Baku issued an arrest warrant against Dan, putting him on the international wanted list. According to Dan,
They only issued the warrant for my arrest, and nobody else on the trip, I think it’s because I am a public figure and they want to try to make an example out of me.”
Dan Bilzerian firing in Nagorno-Karabakh Region
- On October 1, 2017, Dan began posting a series of videos on Instagram that he filmed at the Las Vegas shooting. In the first video, he described the shooting as he fled to safety. In the second video, he decided to fight back and said,
Had to go grab a gun. I’m f—ing headed back”
In some other videos, he stood in front of police cars, asking them for a gun. In the final videos, after he failed in his attempts, he headed back home, and said,
I don’t think there’s much I can do.”
After the videos were posted, he was criticized by many for pretending to be daring when he couldn’t help people. After that, he gave many interviews to media outlets and told them that he had helped a few people there.
- In 2014, he brought a tractor-trailer cab on the federal land near Las Vegas in November and put more than 90 pounds of explosive powder mix inside of a beverage cooler in the truck. He then fired a weapon from a distance causing the tractor to explode. On December 9, 2014, the Los Angeles police arrested him at the Los Angeles International Airport (also known as LAX) on a fugitive warrant from Nevada on the charges of possessing or manufacturing explosive or incendiary devices. The next day at 1:16 pm, he was released as charges against him were dropped. In February 2015, he pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of “negligently failing to extinguish a fire in the open” and had to pay $17,231.50.
- In 2014, he was sued by the model Vanessa Castano after he hit the model in the face during an argument that happened at a nightclub in Miami. Vanessa asked $1 million for her injuries and also warned Dan that he might go through greater damages if the suit went to trial. Dan was also banned from the nightclub. According to Vanessa,
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.”
- In April 2014, the pornographic actress Janice Griffith and Dan appeared in a photoshoot for Hustler magazine. The photoshoot included Dan throwing Janice off the roof to a pool of a house. Unfortunately, Janice broke her foot as she hit the edge of the pool, and demanded $85,000 to cover the cost for her injuries from Dan. In December 2014, she sued Dan and Hustler. Dan’s attorney in response to this, stated,
It shows facts your client always omits: she was under contract to Hustler and agreed with Hustler’s request that she be photographed while being thrown off the roof. I always thought that this kind of thing was Photoshopped instead. Perhaps Hustler’s editorial standards would not permit it. Perhaps she insists on doing all her own stunts. I really do not know. In all events, she agreed. Very few people I know would make that choice. But there it is. And chronologically, she’s an adult competent to make it. Hustler and your client asked Mr. Bilzerian to be the thrower, and we can all agree that was the better end of the deal. Like your client, the facts of the claim won’t, quite, fly.”
Favorite Things
- Book: ‘Walter Chandoha. Cats. Photographs 1942-2018′ by Susan Michals
- Travel Destinations: Hawaii, India, Thailand, Iceland, Tulum
Car & Plane Collection
- Gulfstream GIV N701DB
Dan Bilzerian walking towards his Gulfstream GIV N701DB
- 1965 Shelby Cobra 427
Dan Bilzerian in his 1965 Shelby Cobra 427
- 1970 Toyota Land Cruiser
Dan Bilzerian in his 1970 Toyota Land Cruiser
- Lamborghini Aventador
Dan Bilzerian talking about his Lamborghini Aventador
- Mercedes Benz Brabus G63 AMG 6×6
Dan Bilzerian talking about his Mercedes Benz Brabus G63 AMG 6×6
- M35 Cargo Truck
Dan Bilzerian talking about his M35 Cargo Truck
- Rolls Royce Ghost
Dan Bilzerian with his Rolls Royce Ghost
- Bentley Flying Spur
Dan Bilzerian with his Bentley Flying Spur
- 2018 Ferrari 812 Superfast
Dan Bilzerian talking about his 2018 Ferrari 812 Superfast
Properties
- A mansion in 10979 Chalon Road, Bel Air, Los Angeles, California, with 12-bedroom, 21-bathroom, and five bar edifice. He left the house in July 2020.
Dan Bilzerian’s former house in 10979 Chalon Road, Bel Air
- A home in La Jolla, San Diego, California
Dan Bilzerian’s home in La Jolla, San Diego
- A house in Las Vegas, Nevada
Dan Bilzerian’s house in Las Vegas
Net Worth
In a July 2014 radio interview with Howard Stern, he announced that his estimated net worth was $100 million.
Facts/Trivia
- In his leisure time, he likes doing extreme sports; he likes training in MMA, scuba diving, mountain biking, snowmobiling, surfing, jet skiing, and racing cars.
Dan Bilzerian surfing
- He is also addressed as Marilyn Manson of Poker, Blitz, King of Instagram, and Modern Day Hugh Hefner.
- When he was going through his BUD/S Underwater Demolition SEAL training in the navy, he got his nickname ‘Blitz.’
- In 2011, when the baseball player Alex Rodriguez was accused of illegal gambling, he defended Alex publicly claiming he was there but Alex was not present when the alleged event took place.
- At the age of 32, he suffered two heart attacks due to his excessive drug abuse and extreme lifestyle.
- In June 2015, Dan declared that he was going to contest the 2016 United States presidential election. After launching a few political campaigns, he endorsed Donald Trump, praising him for his unfiltered and politically inflammatory statements.
Dan Bilzerian with Donald Trump
- In October 2016, American rapper T-Pain and Lil Yatchy collaborated to release a song under Dan’s name.
- In 2017, he turned producer with the animated TV program called ‘Blitz’s Real Hollywood Stories.’
- On August 28, 2018, Dan, his brother, and his father made a visit to Armenia to acquire their Armenian citizenships and join the Armenian armed forces.
Paul Bilzerian showing off his Armenian passport
- He loves watches and claims that $40,000 is the least expensive watch he owns.
- He considers guns an accessory and owns at least one hundred guns. According to him, the first gun that he’d ever received was ‘Viet Nam issue-M16,’ a present from his father. He says,
I got functional guns… guns for looks… hunting rifles… and everything in between.”
Dan Bilzerian talking about his collection of guns
- He is also a philanthropist and supports L.V.’s foster family, which is supporting homeless children. After Dan came across an article about the family, he donated $10,000 to them and has been in contact with them ever since.
- He loves goats and owns two pet goats named Zeus and Beatrice. Zeus was a surprise gift that he received from a friend who won $5.2 million in the World Series of Poker. He also owns a pet cat named Smushball.
Dan Bilzerian with his cat
- Once he was challenged to shave off his beard in exchange for $100,000 by one of the (unnamed) founders of Facebook, which he refused.
- His wealth and lavish lifestyle had often been the talk of the town. While Dan claims that his wealth is the result of his successful gambling career, there have been discussions that he inherited it from his father, Paul. In an interview, he accepted that he did inherit money from a trust (funds from which became accessible in 2010) that his father had set up for him and his brother. Many assume that Dan and his brother’s trust was worthed $11.96 million in stocks of Cimetrix, a software company whose president was once his father, Paul.
- During the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Dan, his brother, and his father gave a donation of $250,000 to the Hayastan All-Armenia Fund, which is supporting Armenia and Artsakh against Azerbaijan.
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