Poker and Betting
Bloom made a name for himself as a successful sports bettor and property investor. His nickname, The Lizard, is an alias given to him by an old friend, who claimed he had alligator blood.
He appeared in the Late Night Poker television series and also has a final table appearance on the World Poker Tour. Tony 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)).
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. After being eliminated, Phil Hellmuth, Jr. told him of the "great respect" he had for Bloom's game.
Bloom was a member of the winning British team in the Poker Nations Cup. He is considered one of the most popular players on the circuit, and considers Mike Sexton to be his favourite player.
As of 2008, his total live tournament winnings exceed $1,500,000. 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 10 December 2010. He finished second behind Gus Hansen.
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Famous quotes containing the words poker and/or betting:
“The poker player learns that sometimes both science and common sense are wrong; that the bumblebee can fly; that, perhaps, one should never trust an expert; that there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of by those with an academic bent.”
—David Mamet (b. 1947)
“All voting is a sort of gaming, like checkers or backgammon, with a slight moral tinge to it, a playing with right and wrong, with moral questions; and betting naturally accompanies it. The character of the voters is not staked. I cast my vote, perchance, as I think right; but I am not vitally concerned that right should prevail. I am willing to leave it to the majority.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)