In 2009, Victory Poker pro Dan Bilzerian and his brother Adam were featured prominently in ESPN’s coverage of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event. Dan Bilzerian finished 180th for $36,000 in the prestigious poker tournament, while Adam Bilzerian took 47th for $138,000. However, a controversial Tweet by the former “Flying Bilzerian Brother” has him in the headlines for all of the wrong reasons.
In a recent Twitter post, Bilzerian quoted actor Clint Eastwood in the movie “Gran Torino,” saying, “A Mexican, a Jew and a colored fellow walk into a bar… The bartender looks up and says… Get the **** out of here.” In the process, Bilzerian enraged poker reporter Joy Miller. Bilzerian detailed what happened next in a thread that appeared on TwoPlusTwo: “She told the CEO from Victory Poker that neither myself nor any of the 20 sponsored pros would get any ESPN coverage until I gave a formal apology. I explained to her that it was a quote from a movie. She flipped out and started swearing and screaming at me about using the word ‘colored.’ She sent me a bunch of angry texts [and] yelled at the CEO.”
In a voice mail that Miller left Bilzerian – which appeared on YouTube – Miller explained, “I don’t give a **** if the quote was from a movie. I asked you to apologize because you said ‘colored’ and I just don’t get what you don’t get about that. I don’t even want an apology anymore. Good luck to you.”
In the same YouTube video, Bilzerian appears on a rooftop in Las Vegas summarizing the situation: “I told her she was super offended because the joke had the word ‘colored’ in it. I told her that the NAACP stands for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, so… maybe she should ask them for a public apology because they seem to think it’s socially acceptable and they’re pretty much the biggest black rights activist group in the country. I don’t know. Call me crazy.”
Despite Miller’s claims, a source close to ESPN told Poker News Daily that she is not affiliated with the network or ESPN 360 in any way: “She is not an employee of ESPN and, as such, does not speak for us in any capacity.” On her Twitter feed, Miller, who goes by @joykendra, lists her occupation as “WSOP/Bluff Media/ESPN360 Producer (and professional poker Socializer).”
Miller has posted video interviews from the 2010 WSOP with pros like Jeff Madsen, Andy Bloch, and UB.com’s Joe Sebok on Bluff Magazine’s website.
A 14-page thread erupted within hours on TwoPlusTwo, with posters evenly divided on the issue. Some were critical of Bilzerian’s possible lack of judgment with the Tweet, while others called out Miller for overreacting. In the former camp was “snoopy1239,” who posted, “I think it’s really naive to post it. You’re representing a poker company, it’s the World Series, your Twitters are going up on PokerNews, and people are obviously going to misinterpret and be offended, despite your intentions.”
In her most recent Twitter post, submitted around 1:00am ET early Monday morning, Miller once again called out Bilzerian: “No, ESPN did not request an apology. Joy Miller did, but you’re too much of a toolbag to get it. Good luck.” Bilzerian quickly responded, “Quit pulling the race card and realize it was a movie quote. Toolbag… Really, are we in high school?”
Miller allegedly threatened to disrupt Victory Poker’s coverage at the 2010 WSOP, although it remains to be seen if she has the power to do so. The USA-friendly site’s stable of pros includes Bilzerian, Antonio Esfandiari, Sara Underwood, Lee Markholt, Andrew “good2cu” Robl, and former World Poker Tour (WPT) Player of the Year Jonathan “FieryJustice” Little.
posters were definitely NOT evenly divided FYI