Poker player teams up with Lance Armstrong ahead of bizarre bet

NZ Herald

24 Mar, 2016 09:18 PM2 mins to read

Dan Bilzerian. Photo / Getty

Professional poker player and 'Playboy of Instagram' Dan Bilzerian has teamed up for disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong before attempting a to cycling from Hollywood to Las Vegas in 48 hours.

Bilzerian accepted a bet from fellow poker player Bill Perkins for US$600,000 to complete the ride from Bilzerian's home in California's Hollywood Hills to the Las Vegas sign within two days.

Bilzerian will need to cover 471km to win the bet, around the same distance as Auckland to Hastings. Victory means he'll be able to pay off US$350,000 to cover a recent poker loss.

GoogleMaps predicts the distance would take 26 hours of straight riding, in what normally takes around four and a half hours to drive.

"This is no joke," Bilzerian told the New York Post.

"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

He told the New York Post that he's plans to spend around US$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 US$25,000 to Armstrong's child-cancer charity.

"This is no joke," Bilzerian tells The New York Post. "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."

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Bilzerian has a history of accepting and winning crazy bets. He once won a bet US$3,000 that after claiming he could win a round of tennis playing without a racquet and claims to have lost US$2.3 million on a coin toss.