3-barrels of pure value including Dan Bilzerian winning his bike bet in controversial circumstances, Raising for Effective Giving achieving $1,000,000 in donations, and Maria Ho inking a deal to host the 2016 Battle of Malta.
Dan Bilzerian has won his bike bet but not without a generous dollop of controversy. Bilzerian finished the 278-mile bike ride with 15-hours to spare but used a van so he could ‘draft’ – a term used in cycling where a vehicle (usually another cyclist) drives up ahead to reduce the effect of drag allowing the rider behind to save vital energy.
The creator of the bet, Bill Perkins, has immediately agreed to pay Bilzerian the $600,000 he promised, but Rick Salomon has not been as quick to pay up his $250,000. News reports suggest that Salomon doesn’t think he has to pay up because of Bilzerian’s use of the van. The New York Post believes the most likely outcome will be a resolution arbitrated by three impartial gamblers chosen by Bilzerian and Salomon.
Perkins followed Bilzerian in an RV and said he was an ‘idiot for taking the bet’ after putting his life on the line several times throughout the ride. Speaking to the New York Post-Perkins said, “I saw a car almost drive right into him,” before saying that Bilzerian was so green with an illness that he looked like the Grinch.
Biked Vegas>LA in under 33 hrs,shoutout to the Cops,Wild @bp2269 for motivating me&my coach Natural Nate @Loyalbiker pic.twitter.com/e5umSran1r
— Dan Bilzerian (@DanBilzerian) 1 April 2016
Bilzerian has agreed to donate a portion of his winnings to charity. REG Reaches a Million in Donations Talking about charities, Raising For Effective Giving (REG) have announced that their members have raised $1,000,000 that will now be used to improve the lives of those less fortunate. A big factor in REG’s progress to a million bucks was the performances of REG supporters in the 2014 & 2015 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event. 2014 winner Martin Jacobson donated $250,000 to REG Charities, and Jorryt van Hoof and Max Steinberg also gave an undisclosed amount. REG has since sprung out into other areas such as Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS), video games, finance, and sports betting. Throughout their growth REG has also managed to sustain a fund ratio of 10:1 between seed funding and amount of funds raised for the causes they promote.
Maria Ho to Host 2016 Battle of Malta
The PokerListings Battle of Malta will be returning for its fifth iteration this November, and Global Poker League (GPL) LA Sunset Team Manager, Maria Ho, has been confirmed once again as host of the event.
Year after year, #BattleofMalta continues to outdo itself. I’m thrilled to be back as the host of this great event! https://t.co/hRFjuzvkbi — Maria Ho (@MariaHo) 1 April 2016
The event takes place Nov 2-7, and the Battle of Malta Main Event will feature a €550 buy-in and a €500,000 Guaranteed Prize Pool. The 2015 event attracted 1,804 entrants, and Frenchman Nicolas Proust won the €110,000 first prize. Henrik Jacobsen (2nd) and Hendrik Koops (3rd) also secured €100,000+ payouts.
The 2014 Battle of Malta won the European Poker Award (EPA) for the best low-level buy-in event of the year, and is expected to make the shortlist for the 2015 awards ceremony.
