Dan Bilzerian is betting big on a feat that, for most, would easily end with a trip to the emergency room. The showy multimillionaire — a gun-shooting, high-stakes-poker-playing Instagram king who’s often photographed with scantily clad women draped across his ripped body — has wagered $600,000 that he can ride a bicycle from his home in California’s Hollywood Hills to the Las Vegas sign within 48 hours.
“This is no joke,” Bilzerian tells The Post. The 35-year-old needs to cover 293 miles if he wants to win. “Nobody does this. From LA to Vegas I have a 13,000-foot climb — which is [almost] half of Mount Everest — but I wanted a challenge.”
Challenge is the operative word. Bilzerian, at just under 5-foot-10 and 200 pounds, lacks the classic biker’s physique and hasn’t ridden properly in nearly two decades. He figures that, before he started prepping in mid-February (one day after the bet was made), he had spent fewer than 20 hours on a two-wheeler in his entire life.
“Over the course of training, the most I’ve ridden [at one time] is 54 miles in 4½ hours,” says Bilzerian, who is no stranger to wacky wagers: He once bet $3,000 that he could win a round of tennis playing without a racquet, and raced his Shelby Cobra (pictured above) against a Ferrari for $385,000 (Bilzerian triumphed at both).
On the other side of the current dare is gas trader Bill Perkins, who initiated the bet at a high-stakes poker game. Perkins has a penchant for kicking out strange propositions: He once offered Bilzerian $500,000 if he would work as a valet at a casino for a month (Bilzerian turned him down).
The tycoon originally offered his bet to another player at the table, Rick Salomon (famous for co-starring in Paris Hilton’s notorious 2001 sex video). Salomon turned it down, and a couple days later, Bilzerian bit. Perkins couldn’t be happier. “I may follow him in an RV, and that will be psychological torture for Dan,” says the 47-year-old.
Bilzerian, the son of corporate raider Paul Bilzerian (who was convicted of securities and tax-law violations in 1989), grew up in a Tampa, Fla., mansion. In 1999, one year after receiving his GED (he was expelled from high school in his senior year after getting jailed for possession of a machine gun), Bilzerian joined the Navy, was honorably discharged in 2003 and ultimately attended the University of Florida, where he majored in business and criminology. It was there, Bilzerian says, that he went broke playing online poker before getting serious about the game.
At age 25, while still attending college, Bilzerian suffered a heart attack at Las Vegas’ Bellagio hotel after being awake for four days and partying hard with a mix of cocaine and Viagra. He says he took a taxi to the hospital, tried to jump the waiting-room line with a $10,000 bribe, failed at that, and wound up being treated by Conrad Murray, the doctor who was later found guilty of the involuntary manslaughter of Michael Jackson.
Just two years later, in 2007, Bilzerian was a presence in the high-stakes poker rooms of Nevada, where players recall him showing up with a briefcase full of cash. It earned him a nickname: Suitcase Guy. He says he won his money playing poker, but admitted to the Wall Street Journal “that he received money in a trust,” which, he says, kicked in at age 35.
Bilzerian moved to Vegas in 2009 and became notorious for blowing things up in the desert, flying in private jets, racing fast cars, and engaging in nosebleed gambling. He claims to have once lost $2.3 million on a coin toss. Such outrageous stories — and the photos to go with them — have garnered him 16.3 million Instagram followers.
But these days, it’s his training regimen that fills his Instagram feed. In preparation, Bilzerian has reduced his carb intake by 30 percent, upping fats by the same amount.
“I eat five egg whites and two yolks, oatmeal, fruit and almond butter. Then I take zinc, vitamin C and probiotics,” he says of his breakfast, which he routinely eats at 1 p.m. “An hour after, I ride in the Red Rock Canyon [outside of Las Vegas] for 4½ hours. Then, back home, I have an ice bath and an Epsom-salt bath, get a massage, eat again, and that’s my day.
“My legs hurt, my Achilles is popping, my ass is bruised and I’ve lost six pounds.”
Luckily, Bilzerian has an ace in the hole in former pro cyclist Lance Armstrong, who’s giving him training tips, covering pacing, balancing, gear shifting, and finding optimal hand and body positions.
“Bill heard that Lance is helping me out and offered him a bet: Lance would have to make the LA-to-Vegas trip in 15 hours,” says Bilzerian. “Lance considered it, but turned him down.”
If he gets injured to the point that he cannot complete the ride, happening later this month, Bilzerian loses $600,000. Even if he doesn’t get hurt, the feat won’t be easy: By comparison, the first two days of the Tour de France cover only 202 miles. Bilzerian cannot use motors or tow ropes, but he can walk if his legs or bikes blow out.
Bilzerian says he plans to spend around $125,000 on equipment, chase vans and support staff including bike techs, a doctor, two chefs, trainer, masseuse and an assistant. Win or lose, he’ll give $25,000 to Armstrong’s child-cancer charity, and if he’s victorious, he’ll use $350,000 to cover a recent poker loss.
And he plans on doing everything he can to enhance his odds: “I’ll have a dozen bikes in one of the vans, and may get a giant tricycle” in case his legs lock up. “I might take Provigil, which is what fighter pilots use to stay focused,” he adds. (Says Perkins: “Dan can take any drugs he wants. I think this is the worst bet Dan has ever made — he can die.”)
Win or lose (but not die), Bilzerian figures, “The recovery promises to be brutal. I anticipate bed rest and will be surprised if any skin remains on my ass. You hope for the best with these things, but prepare for the worst.”
Check out this controversial Instagrammer who doesn’t have to risk her life to get views: