Bill Perkins: A poker player’s biography
Written by
Joe - Poker PlayerLast updated:
November 27, 2023
We all know the Last Cowboy for his extravagant lifestyle and adventures with his family and friends worldwide. But in another world, William O. Perkins III is known for his high-stakes poker games and prop bets with other poker celebrities. Let’s get to know Bill Perkins a little better and take a look at the facets of his life.
Where did it all start for Bill Perkins?
From the son of Bill Perkins Senior, a football player and politician, to the multimillionaire hedge fund manager, film producer, and high-stakes poker player, it looks like Bill has done it all. But the beginning for Bill was when he studied EEE (Electrical and Electronics Engineering) at the University of Iowa. He then started working for John D. Arnold in the energy trade business for many years before starting his first hedge fund, Small Ventures USA, LP, in 1997 when he was 28.
He also worked as the manager and CEO for Northern Star Natural Gas and Cutuco Energy Central America for 12 years. He has been dabbling in the stock market for energy since his days with Arnold, and he finally managed to make his first million dollars in 2008.
What does Perkins do now?
Bill started producing films in 2009 with the movie After Life and continued with Unthinkable (2010) and Cat Run (2011.) He also finished writing his book, Die with Zero: Getting All You Can from Your Money and Your Life, in 2020 and published it with great reviews. These days, he is managing Skylar Capital, his own hedge fund, and spends his days playing Poker and having adventures with his family.
When did Bill Perkins start playing Poker?
Bill has been playing Poker since 2012, and now he is a pro high-stakes player. His first encounter with Poker was when he saw Hendon Mob’s first Live Poker Tournament results. That was when he realized Poker could be a lot of fun. The best thing about Perkins is that he applies his personal philosophy, which he explains in his book, in his poker game. He brings fun to every game he attends while taking it seriously enough not to waste his money. More importantly, he is not a sour loser and keeps his upbeat demeanor even when he loses.
As an amateur, he has played in many important Poker events and gained quite a lot of money. For him, Poker is merely a pastime where he can have fun playing with friends and maybe add to his considerable wealth. He has earned $5.5 million in different Poker tournaments so far, and it looks like he is not ready to stop any time soon. His most successful round was the charity Poker tournament in London called the £1,000,000 Triton Series, where he came sixth and won about 2.2 million Pounds.
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What are some of Perkins’ Poker highlights?
Bill has had a couple of noteworthy wins and losses during the ten-plus years that he has been playing. For instance, just a year after starting to play, he came third in the $111,111 No Limit Hold’em One Drop High Roller at Event #47 and won more than $1,000. Generally, 2013 was a good year for him because he also won 4th place in the European Poker Tour, London, and pocketed more than 470 thousand dollars.
Perkins’s next significant win came in 2015 when he made over $92,000 at Event #96 of the PokerStars Championship. 2016 brought him huge losses on online Poker platforms, capping at the heart-stopping amount of $633K. But then it was time to make a comeback and earn back his losses in the following years’ tournaments.
In 2019, he played the $50,000 No Limit Hold’em Event #13 and managed the 8th place winning $117,980. This brought his total winnings in Poker games to a significant sum of approximately $2.8 million. Then came the $1.9 million from the charity Poker Tournament in London.
What’s the story with Perkins’ prop bets?
Bill Perkins is also famous for his prop bets. For instance, once he wagered his friend Dan Bilzerian to bike from Las Vagas to Los Angeles within 24 hours for 600,000 dollars. It’s interesting to know that Bilzerian won the bet and collected his money.
Another one of Perkins’ more controversial bets was with Shaun Deeb, the professional Poker player, to bring his body fat to under 17% by May 30, 2024. The wager is 10:1, which means Shaun will win $1M by losing the weight. According to the latest news, in October 2023, he is making good progress, and it looks like he will pocket the million.
It’s no wonder Bill Perkins is called the king of weight loss prop bets because he has done it before. His last weight loss prop bet was with Doug Polk over $200K, which Doug couldn’t win. But it seems Bill is determined to bring his Poker competition into shape by making these bizarre prop bets.
Speaking of bizarre, Perkins says his best prop bet was with Antonio Esfandiari. He wagered that Antonio would lunge everywhere he went for two days. Unfortunately, Antonio was due to play a poker game the next morning, and because he didn’t want to lunge in the middle of the poker room, he took a bottle with him to urinate in. However, this act disqualified him from the tournament and earned him lots of criticism from his fellow Poker players.
Who is Bill Perkins married to?
Bill had been going out with Lara Sebastian, a Canadian dancer and artist, for several years before he popped the question. He asked her hand for marriage on a romantic vacation to Croatia, where Bill had planned everything to the minute to surprise her. And surprised she was!
The couple got married in July 2022 on a glorious night during which they jumped into the pool, with Tuxedos and wedding dress and all, to watch the fireworks from a beautiful vintage point in the water. Bill, known for his adventurous lifestyle, later said, “Lara is even crazier than me!” Bill also has two daughters, 16 and 19 years old, from his previous marriage to Stephanie Perk.
What do you know about Bill Perkins’ book Die with Zero?
Die with Zero is composed of Bill’s personal philosophy about living rich. He believes that experiencing life is much more important than earning money and what’s the point of having money if you don’t spend the time enjoying it. The book’s name comes from the idea that when you die, you should have zero dollars in your bank account, and the total sum of your life will be counted by the memories you have made rather than the money you leave for your children.
What is Bill Perkins’ net worth?
As one of the richest people in the United States, Bill’s net worth is estimated to be around $50 million. He has made most of this money trading in the energy stock market and from his hedge fund. However, some other sources place Perkins’ total wealth at $120 million in assets.
Whichever the case, Bill continues to make money from trades, hedge funds, Poker games, and, of course, his positive attitude.
Bill Perkins’ life in numbers
| Date of birth | February 2, 1969 |
| Age | 54 |
| Other names | Gastrader / Perk |
| Ex-wife | Stephanie Perk |
| Current wife | Lara Sebastian |
| Children | 2 daughters |
| Net worth | $55 million |
| @billperkins | |
| @BillPerkins01 | |
| First poker game | In the Bahamas, won $58,020. |
| Biggest win | In London, 2.2 million pounds |
| Total Poker winnings | $5.5 million |
To sum up
Bill Perkins has had such a fulfilling life that anybody reading his biography would be tempted to adopt his life philosophy. He has accumulated over $55 million of net worth over the years without sacrificing his joy of life for earning money. His attitude in playing Poker is the same as everything else in life: you shouldn’t play the game to earn money. You should play it to experience the joy of winning or losing. Of course, one can always argue that he has never had to worry about money to forget about the joys of life!
