Alligator Blood: The Spectacular Rise and Fall of the High-Rolling Whiz-kid Who Controlled Online Poker's Billions

Alligator Blood: The Spectacular Rise and Fall of the High-Rolling Whiz-kid Who Controlled Online Poker's Billions

Author: James Leighton

Year: Aug 2013

Print house: Simon & Schuster Ltd

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Daniel Tzvetkoff was just another Brisbane teenager working for peanuts at Pizza Hut and spending much of his spare time glued to his computer. When he worked out a new method of payment processing, the online poker companies came running to him for help so they could grow their businesses. Soon he was living the American dream, raking in $3 million a week and reveling in a jet-set lifestyle of fast cars, luxury yachts and VIP nightclubs. His epic roller-coaster ride mirrored the extraordinary world of online poker, where hot-shot college students won millions from the confines of their dorms, and fortunes were won and lost. However, Tzvetkoff's move to the bright lights of Las Vegas would soon see him facing the abyss. Owing millions to the poker companies, and with the FBI hot on his trail, the boy wonder needed to pull an ace from his sleeve to keep from busting out. And when he did, it resulted in a day that sent shockwaves through the world of online poker - and saw him take the blame.

Check out Chad Holloway's review of Alligator Blood, which also includes an interview with the author.