Tony Bloom

Anthony Grant Bloom (born 20 March 1970) is an English sports bettor, poker player, and entrepreneur. He is the majority owner and chairman of Premier League football club Brighton & Hove Albion, and investor in and minority shareholder of Belgian First Division A team Royale Union Saint-Gilloise.[1]

Tony Bloom
Bloom in November 2005
Nickname(s)The Lizard
ResidenceLondon, England
BornAnthony Grant Bloom
(1970-03-20) 20 March 1970
Brighton, England
World Series of Poker
Bracelet(s)None
Money finish(es)11
Highest ITM
Main Event finish		512th, 2006
World Poker Tour
Title(s)None
Final table(s)1
Money finish(es)2
European Poker Tour
Title(s)None
Final table(s)None
Money finish(es)1

Poker and betting

Bloom is a sports bettor and poker player, nicknamed The Lizard.[2]

Bloom appeared in the Late Night Poker television series and also has a final table appearance on the World Poker Tour. He also made back-to-back final table appearances in the first two Poker Million events. His first major win came in January 2004 when he won the Australasian Poker Championship in Melbourne, collecting a first prize of around A$420,000 ($320,000, £180,000).[3]

Bloom won the £5,000 No Limit Hold'em VC Poker Cup Final in London on 5 August 2005 and won the £200,000 ($351,401) first prize.

He also had a fourth-place finish in the 2005 World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions. He was a member of the winning British team in the Poker Nations Cup. Bloom won A$600,000 for his second-place finish in the High Rollers Challenge, Event #8 of the Australian Poker Millions tournament held in Melbourne in Jan 2009.

Bloom fell short of the million-pound grand prize in the Poker Million IX event held in London on December 10, 2010. He finished second behind Gus Hansen.[4]

In September 2022, Bloom won Poker Masters Event #8: $25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha for $360,000.[5] It was Bloom's first time playing poker in three years and his first time playing a PokerGO Tour event.

As of October 2022, Bloom's total live tournament winnings exceeded $3,800,000.

Entrepreneur

Bloom's wealth has been accumulated primarily through proprietary or value betting on sports events. Bloom heads a private betting syndicate which is believed to have been continuously successful year on year for a sustained period of time. Bloom also holds significant property and private equity portfolios.[6][7]

Football Chairman and Investor

Since 2009, Bloom has been the chairman of Brighton & Hove Albion, who are currently a Premier League club, having gained promotion in the 2016–17 season after 34 years out of the top flight of English football.

He succeeded Dick Knight after securing a 75% shareholding in the club and investing £93 million in the development of the club's new ground, Falmer Stadium.[8][9] The stadium had extensions in spectator capacity and received funding to ensure that it is "Premier League ready" by installing floodlights, amongst other features.

Bloom is a longtime Brighton fan[10] and his family has had a long association with the club; his uncle Ray is a director and his grandfather, Harry, was vice-chairman during the 1970s.[11]

Bloom appointed former Uruguay international Gus Poyet as manager in November 2009, and together they led the team to promotion from Football League One as champions in 2011, the season before Brighton moved into their new home—Falmer Stadium. Poyet left the club in 2013 after losing in a play-off semi-final to Crystal Palace. In June 2013, Bloom appointed Óscar García as the new head coach of the club; Garcia resigned after losing a second successive play-off semi-final to Derby County and left the club in May 2014. The next manager was former Liverpool player Sami Hyypiä, who only lasted a few months in the managerial role after a poor start to the 2014–15 season left Brighton in the relegation zone. Chris Hughton became manager towards the end of 2014, and the club have been successful since.

Hughton steered Albion to safety in their 2014–15 campaign, and then guided the club to a 3rd-place position in the Championship in the following season, missing out on promotion to Middlesbrough on goal difference. The club would be defeated in the play-off semi final, for the third time in four years, this time to Sheffield Wednesday.

Brighton went one step further in the 2016–17 season under Hughton's management and Bloom's ownership, finishing second in the Championship and gaining promotion to the Premier League for the first time in the club's history. Bloom backed Hughton in the following transfer window, breaking several record transfer fees to improve the squad, readying Brighton's first Premier League season. On 13 May 2019, immediately after the end of the season, with the club ending at the 17th position and thus securing its top-tier status for the coming season, Bloom released a statement to the effect that "it was time for a change" and sacked Hughton, replacing him with Championship's Swansea coach Graham Potter.[12]

In the 2021–22 Premier League season, Brighton finished with 51 points, their highest ever points tally in the Premier League. By finishing in 9th place Brighton also secured the highest ever top flight final position in its history up until that point.

Following the 9th placed finish, Brighton would complete the 2022-23 Premier League season in 6th place and by doing so, qualified for the UEFA Europa League, hosting European football for the first time in their history.[13] The European charge was started by Graham Potter and completed by Roberto De Zerbi, after the former departed for Chelsea FC.[14]

In 2018, Bloom completed the takeover of Belgian second division club Royale Union Saint-Gilloise, known as USG. At the end of the 2020-2021 football season USG were promoted to Belgian First Division A for the first time in 48 years. Bloom was the majority owner of USG however following the qualification by USG and Brighton for UEFA club competitions for the 2023-2024 season, Bloom made changes to his investment in USG to ensure compliance with UEFA's multi-club ownership rules. These changes resulted in Bloom becoming a minority shareholder in USG. USG and Brighton's admission to UEFA club competitions for the 2023-2024 season was confirmed by UEFA in a press release issued on 7th July, 2023 .

Personal life, and other ventures

Bloom is Jewish, and has contributed significantly to the development of a synagogue and community centre project in Hove. He stepped in with the Brighton and Hove Hebrew Congregation suffering financial problems, and the funding for the development will come from his Bloom Foundation, of which he is the chairman.[15]

References
  1. RUSG (2 August 2018). "Media Statement". Royale Union Saint-Gilloise. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  2. Armytage, Marcus; Zeqiri, Daniel (15 March 2023). "Energumene wins Champion Chase for Brighton owner Tony Bloom looking a class above". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  3. Tony Bloom's Player Profile and History Archived 2 March 2010 at the Wayback Machine Pokerpages. Retrieved 1 May 2010
  4. Hendon Mob Database The Hendon Mob. Retrieved 26 May 2011
  5. "Legendary Sports Bettor Tony Bloom Wins Poker Masters Event #8". pgt.com. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  6. "The story of Brighton & Hove Albion FC owner Tony Bloom, Britain's most successful gambler - and the secretive company that helps him win". Business Insider.
  7. "How Bloom hit the jackpot".
  8. Stadium Funding Secured Archived 22 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine, Seagulls World, 18 May 2009. Retrieved 18 May 2009
  9. Prediction for 09-10 Season Squarefootball, 21 February 2009. Retrieved 21 February 2009
  10. Szczepanik, Nick (22 May 2009). "'I'm no Abramovich' says new Brighton chairman". Times Online. Retrieved 4 June 2011.
  11. Szczepanik, Nick (19 May 2009). "Brighton secure £93m investment". Times Online. Retrieved 4 June 2011.
  12. "Brighton: Chris Hughton surprised and disappointed by sacking". BBC. 22 May 2019. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  13. "Brighton seal Europa League place with Man City draw". BBC Sport. 24 May 2023. Archived from the original on 23 May 2023. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  14. "Graham Potter announced as Chelsea's new head coach on a five-year deal". Sky Sports. 9 September 2022. Archived from the original on 8 September 2022. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  15. "Albion owner finances new synagogue project". The Argus. 28 October 2017.
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