World Series of Poker Champ James Bord to Buy Sottish Soccer Team
World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) titleholder James Bord is close to purchasing Scottish Championship soccer club Dunfermline Athletic.
The British player, who claimed the WSOP European Main Event title in London in 2010 for $1.1 million, is at the helm of a group of investors seeking to acquire the 75% share owned by the German soccer investment firm DAFC Fussball GmbH.
The Scottish Football Association (SFA) is anticipated to greenlight the sale to Bord and his investment partners, US nationals Wai Yin Kelly Kung and Justin Royce Harkema. According to The Daily Mail, the parties will convene next week to finalize the acquisition of the team, which 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 past Citigroup banker who departed from finance in his mid-20s to follow his passions for poker and sports wagering. Along with his victory at the WSOPE, he also operated a training and staking business for players, called the Poker Farm.
He is the creator of Short Circuit Science, a San Francisco-based firm 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 went on to own prominent soccer clubs.
During the mid-to-late 2000s, Bord was employed by Tony Bloom, whose betting syndicate and consultancy, Star Lizard, ranks among the top earners in soccer wagering.
Bloom is a prominent poker player who acquired the nickname “The Lizard” due to his behavior at the table.
After 'The Lizard'
Star Lizard made Bloom extremely wealthy, and in 2019, he bought his childhood team, Brighton FC, which was then struggling in the third division of English soccer. Utilizing the same cold, analytical approach to the transfer market as he did with betting markets, Bloom led Brighton to the English Premier League, where it continues to stay.
At a certain time, Bord left Star Lizard to join another sports betting fund run by Matthew Benham, who had also worked for Bloom earlier. Benham eventually became an investor in the Matchbook betting exchange and in 2012 assumed control of his childhood club, Brentford FC.
The squad advanced to the Premier League in 2021, demonstrating clearly that statistics enthusiasts are the future of football.