Instagram King Dan Bilzerian wins $600k in Bike Bet

Dan Bilzerian, who’s become famous for his 16.5 million Instagram followers, is about to get even more famous after winning $600k in a cycling prop bet. Bilzerian needed to complete a 300-mile bike ride from Las Vegas to L.A. in less than 48 hours, and he finished with time to spare at 33 hours.

The man on the losing end of this wager, businessman Bill Perkins, was gracious in defeat. However, he did tell the New York Post that Bilzerian looks worse for wear.

“He looks like the Grinch — his skin is green. He’s looking like death right now,” described Perkins. “He’s in bed with chafed buttocks, a fever, hot and cold [flashes], chills, wobbly legs. His immune system is down, and every virus you can have is rising. I was hoping his muscles would seize up [midride], but they didn’t.”

Despite glowing over how hard he made Bilzerian work for the money, Perkins did show some respect by saying, “He used all his willpower.”

The 35-year-old also bet his G4 private jet against celebutante Rick Salomon’s $250,000 that he wouldn’t die or go brain-dead on the ride. But Salomon claims that he doesn’t owe the money after a photo showed Bilzerian drafting off a rented chase van for a portion of the journey. So it remains to be seen whether he’ll get the other $250,000.

Perkins also complained about Bilzerian drafting because this cut down on the wind resistance and effort that he faced when completing the ride. However, it appears that the social-media star would have won the bet no matter what.

“There’s no doubt he had a mechanical advantage, and I didn’t know he would be so close to the van,” explained Perkins. “But you need to look at the totality and spirit of the bet. His drafting might have saved him 5,000 calories, but he had 14 hours in which to finish the bet. I did a back-of-the-envelope calculation and realized that he would have won even without the drafting.”

While this bet seems like all fun and games – aside from the drafting controversy – there were some definite dangers along the way. Following the action in an RV, Perkins noted the perils that he saw Bilzerian face.

“Dan risked death a couple of times,” said Perkins. “I saw a car almost drive right into him. His bike coach, who is a complete badass, watched Dan riding up a hill, in the pitch-black night, heading into Barstow, and said that he wouldn’t do it. It was too dangerous. Dan was getting sucked in and out of the road. The odds of getting killed were higher than he thought. He was an idiot for taking the bet.”