Over more than two decades as a professional gambler, Tony Bloom made his fortune playing high-stakes poker, wagering on soccer and cricket, and honing an approach so coldblooded that he was nicknamed “The Lizard.”
But never in his entire career had Bloom made a more seemingly preposterous bet than the one he placed last summer in Edinburgh. By spending $13 million to buy a stake in a team called Heart of Midlothian, Bloom was betting that he could turn Scottish soccer on its head.
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