Bill Perkins’ Biography

American businessman and poker player Bill Perkins was born on February 2, 1969, in Houston, Texas. He graduated from the University of Iowa with a degree in “electronics and electrical engineering”. Perkins worked as an oil trader for several years, and after that, he decided to open his own company, Small Ventures. In 2013, Bill established his own hedge fund, Skylar Capital Management.

Bill Perkins Switch From Business To Poker Playing

After achieving considerable success in business, the American player started his poker career. In 2010, he became a member of the PokerStars Big Game TV show, where he plays poker with famous professionals. 

Since 2012, Perkins has been playing in high roller tournaments.

Bill got his first big winning in the same year at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) series. In one of the High Roller tournaments with $25 000 buy-in, he took 15th place and won $58 000. For Perkins, PCA can be called the most profitable series. His best result in this championship is the 8th place in the tournament with $50 000 buy-in and winning an amount of $118 000.

WSOP events are also significant in the career of the American player. At first, it was very difficult for him to get into the prizes of WSOP tournaments. Despite this, Perkins was able to afford himself to continue his play. Over time, he improved his play and which allowed him to achieve the big victories at WSOP.

In 2013, he took third place in the One Drop High Roller tournament with $111 111 buy-in and won almost $2 000 000. In 2019, he took 19th place in the Short Deck Hold’em tournament and won $15 000. 

The Highest Winnings of Bill Perkins

• 6th place in Triton Million for Charity – Triton Poker SHR Series 2019 – $2 678 000;
• 3rd place in One Drop High Roller – WSOP 2013 – $1 965 000;
• 4th place in Super High Roller – EPT London 2013 – $470 000;
• 8th place in No Limit Hold'em – PCA in 2019 – $118 000;
• 5th place in Shot Clock – PokerStars Championship Bahamas in 2017 – $92 520.

Bill Perkins Performance in Online Poker

In online poker, Perkins is known under the nickname "GASTRADER". In this game format, the player’s performances are not as successful as it is in the live tournaments. For example, from 2016 to 2017, Bill lost more than $850 000. If you divide this amount by the number of hands played, it turns out that the American player loses $95 per hand on average.

Even in this scenario, Perkins cannot be called a weak player. In online poker, he managed to play with such famous players as "Truteller", "probirs" and "LlinusLlove".

The Latest News About Bill Perkins

Bill doesn’t seem to be involved in poker since his big cash in the Triton Poker SHR Series. He was noticed in poker streams from The Lodge Poker Club in Texas. The only event Perkins played at in 2025 was the Golden Sunday during the Golden Nugget Grand Poker Series.

He didn’t comment on such a substantial break from poker. Judging by his social media, Bill focuses on promoting his Die With Zero book. Together with his spouse, Lara, they are waiting for their third child. As of 2025, his position in the All-Time Money list is 411th. Bill is currently ranked as 210th in the US All Time Money List.

Interesting Details About Bill Perkins

• Perkins is a big fan of making bets. On his account, there are many different crazy bets with poker players. During one of the tournaments, Bill proposed to his friend Jeffrey Gross to get a rainbow tattoo, which is a symbol of sexual minorities. Perkins paid Gross $550 000 for the realisation of his "curious offer."
• Bill made a wager with his friend Dan Bilzerian regarding whether he would be able to go to Las Vegas from Los Angeles by bicycle during 2 days. The amount of dispute between the poker players was $1 200 000.  
• During the Main Event at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, Perkins argued with famous poker player Antonio Esfandiari for $50 000 that he would not be able to walk lunges within 48 hours. The next day, the popular player was excluded from the tournament because he decided to relieve himself in the bottle right in the gaming room.
• In 2017, Perkins entered into a bet with Jamie Staples and his brother, the condition of which was that in a year, both brothers would weigh equally, although at that time the difference in their weight was more than 70 kg (Jamie weighed 138 kg, and his brother Matthew – 61 kg). A year later, the guys won the argument. At that time, the weight of each of them was about 85 kg.
  
• In 2016, businessman and poker enthusiast Bill Perkins created a Twitch channel, The Thirst Lounge, which is very popular in the poker community. The Thirst Lounge 10 was the team of players who streamed on the channel. Although PartyPoker partnered with them in 2019 to sign a sponsorship contract, the project has quickly run its course.
• In 2019, Bill Perkins announced that he had written the book Die With Zero. In it, he tells readers how he achieved success in life and shares his opinion about the need to value time above money.
  
• Bill has two daughters from his first marriage.
• Bill Perkins's partner – Lara Sebastian – American model, actress and dancer, originally from Canada. The couple have been together for many years.
  
• He is a co-founder of the SkyFi project. This company gathers geospatial information and takes high-resolution images of Earth from satellites. Among the SkyFi partners are Hermeus, Google, Bayer, Axiom, and others.
  
• Despite the substantial cashes in poker, Bill describes himself as an “avid amateur” poker player.
  

Bill Perkins on Social Media

• Bill Perkins on Instagram 
• Bill Perkins on X (former Twitter)