Antonio "The Magician" Esfandiari (Persian: امیر اسفندیاری; born December 8, 1978, as Amir Esfandiary),[1] is a professional poker player and former professional magician, known for his elaborate chip tricks. Esfandiari was the face of the now-defunct poker site, UltimatePoker.com.[2][3]
In 2012, he authored The Magician's Secrets for Winning Tournaments on Insta Poker, a poker strategy game available for iOS.[4]
Early life
Esfandiari was born in Tehran, Iran. When he was nine years old, his family moved to San Jose, California. He graduated from Del Mar High School in 1997.[5] He then went briefly to jail after he got caught by the police selling marijuana.[6]
At the age of 19, he changed his name to Antonio, which was adopted from a desire to be a magician. Antonio the magician sounded more mystical than Amir the magician. At the same time he also had a nose job done to look less foreign.
He became a professional magician. While he was performing magic, he was invited to a game of Texas Hold 'em and started to play poker. He has a younger brother, Pasha, who also plays poker.[7]
Personal life
Esfandiari is married to Amal Bounahra, daughter of Lebanese-Belizean poker pro Badih "Bob" Bounahra.[8] Esfandiari and his wife had a son on January 7, 2015.[9]
Live poker
In 2004, Esfandiari won his first World Series of Poker bracelet in pot-limit Texas Hold 'em.[10] He won close to $1.4 million and his first World Poker Tour title at the L.A. Poker Classic.[11]
On April 12, 2008, Esfandiari made the final table at the 2008 PokerStars.com EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo finishing in eighth place, winning €168,000 ($266,004).[15] On July 14, 2009, Esfandiari made his deepest finish to date in the World Series of Poker Main Event, finishing 24th on day 8 of the tournament, earning $352,832.[16]
In 2010, he won his second World Poker Tour title by winning the WPT Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World for over $870,000.[17] On July 3, 2012, he won the largest buy-in tournament in history, the Big One for One Drop, a $1,000,000 buy-in live event.[18] After beating 47 other players, he earned $18,346,673, the biggest cash prize in poker history.[19] The same year at the 2012 World Series of Poker Europe, Esfandiari won his third bracelet in the €1,100 No Limit Hold'em event, defeating Remi Bollengier heads-up to earn €126,207.[20] In the 2013 World Series of Poker, he placed fourth in the One Drop High Roller tournament, the successor to the Big One that he had won a year earlier, and earned $1,433,438.[21]
As of 2023, his total live tournament winnings exceed $27,800,000.[22] Esfandiari has been ranked as high as #14 on the Global Poker Index.[23]
On January 10, 2016, Esfandiari was disqualified from the 2016 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure $5,300 Main Event after apparently urinating in a bottle as a result of a prop bet with Bill Perkins.[24]
$10,000 Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic
$870,124
Other television appearances
Esfandiari co-starred in the TV show I Bet You, on MOJO HD, with Phil Laak.[25] He is the face of World Poker Tour's Poker-Made Millionaire. He was also seen in the season 7 opener of Entourage. In 2012 Esfandiari appeared as an undercover officer in the movie Freelancers starring Robert De Niro and Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson.[26]
In January 2014, Antonio Esfandiari began shooting a web reality series with Ultimate Poker: Strip Magic. The series features Esfandiari performing street magic on the Las Vegas strip along with exclusive interviews.[27] In March 2014, the season one debuted on Youtube.com/UltimatePoker.[28]
In September 2014, Esfandiari paired with fellow poker professional Phil Laak on 'Underground Poker', which aired on the Discovery Channel as part of a three-part mini-series entitled 'All In, All Night'.[29]
