Nationality American Role Writer Ethnicity Armenian (father) | Years active 2007—present Siblings Dan Bilzerian Name Adam Bilzerian | |
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Parents Paul Bilzerian, Terri Steffen Books America: Love It Or Leave It, So I Left, America: Land of the Free, My Ass, Null America Grandparents Joan Bilzerian, Oscar Bilzerian Similar People Dan Bilzerian, Paul Bilzerian, Kevin Saul, Tom Goldstein | ||
Adam J. Bilzerian (born 1983) is an American-born Nevisian poker player and writer.
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Early life
Bilzerian is the son of Armenian-American corporate takeover specialist Paul Bilzerian and Terri, grew up in Florida. He has a brother, Dan Bilzerian. He attended Gaither High School, where he represented his school in tennis.
On June 11, 2001, FBI agents raided the Bilzerian residence in Tampa, Florida, in relation to charges of market manipulation against Paul Bilzerian. A neighbour described the raid as "pure intimidation". Paul Bilzerian would be held in prison and was not permitted to attend his son's high school graduation. In the aftermath, Adam Bilzerian would question his dream of becoming an Army Green Beret; in press interviews, he asked, "How can you go in and fight for your country when this is what they're doing to [your father]?" Longer term, the incident proved to have a lasting effect on Bilzerian's worldview. He went on to Vanderbilt University, where he witnessed the United States presidential election, 2004 that resulted in a second term for George W. Bush; Bilzerian saw this as a bad sign for the future of the freedoms of the Bill of Rights, and began to look into emigrating from the U.S. and establishing himself abroad. In 2007, he purchased a residence in Saint Kitts and Nevis, and the following year went on to become a citizen of the country, relinquishing his U.S. citizenship in the process.
Poker career
Bilzerian came in 47th in the 2009 World Series of Poker, winning $138,568. His brother Dan also participated in the tournament; their performance led Norman Chad to nickname them the "Flying Bilzerian Brothers". He participated in the 2010 World Series of Poker as well.
He played poker privately with baseball player Alex Rodriguez at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, and was reportedly surprised by Rodriguez' skill; he was quoted as stating, "Alex busted everyone except me. I was like whoa, this guy can play. He had an amazing run. He won about $20,000 and left with everyone's money."