World Series of Poker Champ James Bord to Buy Sottish Soccer Team
World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) titleholder James Bord is close to obtaining Scottish Championship football club Dunfermline Athletic.
The British player, who secured the WSOP’s European Main Event in London in 2010 for $1.1 million, is at the forefront of a group of investors attempting to acquire the 75% interest presently owned by the German soccer investment firm DAFC Fussball GmbH.
The Scottish Football Association (SFA) is anticipated to endorse the transaction to Bord along with his co-investors, US nationals Wai Yin Kelly Kung and Justin Royce Harkema. According to The Daily Mail, the parties are scheduled to gather next week to finalize the acquisition of the team that competes in Scotland's second division.
The organization currently holds a minority stake in the Spanish La Liga 2 club Cordoba CF.
Who is James Bord?
Bord is a previous Citigroup banker who departed from the finance sector in his mid-20s to follow his passions for poker and sports wagering. Along with winning the WSOPE, he operated a training and staking firm for players called the Poker Farm.
He is the creator of Short Circuit Science, a company located in San Francisco that focuses on sports data analytics, medical prescription technology, and climate adaptation analysis.
At Dunfermline, Bord aims to replicate the achievements of his two previous mentors, each of whom became owners of significant soccer teams.
During the mid-to-late 2000s, Bord was employed by Tony Bloom, whose gambling syndicate and advisory firm, Star Lizard, ranks among the largest successful entities in soccer betting.
Bloom is a famous poker player recognized by the nickname "The Lizard" due to his behavior at the table.
After 'The Lizard'
Star Lizard made Bloom extremely wealthy, and in 2019, he acquired his childhood club, Brighton FC, which was then struggling in the third division of English soccer. Using the same detached, rigorous approach towards the transfer market as he did with the betting markets, Bloom led Brighton to the English Premier League, where the club still resides.
At one point, Bord left Star Lizard to join another sports betting fund run by Matthew Benham, who had also worked for Bloom in the past. Benham subsequently became an investor in the Matchbook betting exchange, and in 2012, he assumed control of his childhood club, Brentford FC.
The team earned promotion to the Premier League in 2021, demonstrating definitively that data enthusiasts are the future of soccer.
Check Out Other News
UK