Dan Bilzerian Is Sometimes Known as the “King of Instagram”
Poker professional Dan Bilzerian is in the mainstream pop culture news again, this time for suing an online site for defamation. Bilzerian is suing “The Dirty” for reporting that he gave an STD to a woman. Meanwhile, Bilzerian has announced he is writing a book.
The lawsuit was given attention on TMZ and other American news channels, because Dan Bilzerian has become famous for his wild lifestyle, hipster beard, and model good looks. The trust fund kid and Internet social media star also happens to be a solid poker professional, having founded Victory Poker, cashed in the 2009 WSOP Main Event, and been voted one of Bluff Magazine’s funniest poker players in 2010.
Actor and Stuntman
Since becoming a minor star in the poker world, his public career has been both colorful and bizarre. The Armenian-American was a stuntman in several movies–most notably “Olympus Has Fallen“–and has been an actor in four movies, including the upcoming Bruce Willis film, Extraction.
In 2013, he also hijacked a broadcast of the World Series of Poker Main Event Final Table from the seats when the camera kept catching him sitting in the front row. Bilzerian sat motionless and seemingly emotionless, but he had an attractive young woman at his side who was entirely preoccupied with stroking his full beard. That moment is what apparently led to Dan Bilzerian attaining another level of fame.
Online Poker Spokesman for BGO
Along the way, he has signed with online poker company BGO to star alongside Verne Troyer of “Mini-Me” fame in an advertising campaign. The 34-year old also won a $385,000 racing bet against Supreme Court litigator Tom Goldstein, which took place at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Meanwhile, Dan Bilzerian began to collect an online following through his Instagram account. His life started to be followed by Nik Richie, founder of TheDirty.com. The Dirty is a website which allows readers to post their own comments. Nik Ritchie and his site have been sued by a number of celebrities, though Ritchie has won those cases, because the comments were made by readers–not Nik Ritchie himself.
The Dark Side of Dan Bilzerian
There is a dark side to Dan Bilzerian’s seemingly glamorous lifestyle. Due to his reputed drug use, it has been reported Bilzerian had 3 heart attacks by the age of 32. He also has had a violent past with women.
In December of 2014, he was sued by a porn model for tossing her off a house and into a swimming pool for a Hustler Magazine photoshoot. Her foot did not clear the concrete, so it shattered. She sued Bilzerian for $85,000 to pay for her medical bills. Later that month, he was arrested at Los Angeles Airport on “bomb-making charges”.
Alleged to Have Kicked a Woman in the Face
In August of 2014, Dan Bilzerian was accused of punching a “kicking model” during a brawl in a Miami nightclub. That model, Vanessa Castano, said that she was attacked for attempting to break up a fight. While one might urge a person not to trying breaking up a drunken brawl in a nightclub, she claimed Bilzerian’s antics went far beyond a single punch.
Castano said he attacked her after she was on the floor. In the Miami Herald, Castano said, “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.”
Suing “The Dirty” for STD Post
Now, he is wanting to sue Nik Ritchie for information about STDs placed on TheDirty. During a discussion of Bilzerian’s lifestyle, a woman claimed she got drunk and had relations with the poker player, but he gave her Chlamydia, one of the most common STDs in the world. A million Americans are thought to be afflicted with it at any given time.
Dan Bilzerian’s chances of winning such a lawsuit are slim, but that does not seem to deter him. Meanwhile, he posted pictures of himself at his (gun-covered) desk and claims he is about to start writing a novel. Presumably, the novel would be an autobiography, which might be pretty interesting.
Yet Another Colorful Poker Player
Among a large array of colorful personalities in the gambling community, Dan Bilzerian is one of the most colorful. One hopes (for his health) that his lifestyle is not as out-of-control as it’s portrayed on the Internet.
