Antonio "The Magician" Esfandiari is one of the most televised players on the professional poker circuit, famous for not only his prowess at the poker tables, but also for his ability to manipulate cards and chips for the camera.
Bio
Born December 8th, 1978 in Tehran, Iran, Antonio Esfandiari grew up in San Jose, California and currently lives in Las Vegas. Esfandiari has packed a lot of triumph into his young life. Before his lightning rise to the top of the poker world, Antonio was a professional magician, and turned 12-hour days of practice into a thriving professional career. However when his roommate introduced him to poker at 19, he recognized quickly that poker would be his life. He attacked the game like he had any other of his interests and it wasn’t long before he found success in poker.Antonio won the 2004 World Poker Tour L.A. Poker Classic main event, receiving nearly $1.4 million. At the age of 25, he became the youngest person ever to win a televised WPT event, as well as the youngest poker player to win a million-dollar prize. He also won a World Series of Poker bracelet in the 2004 $2,000 pot-limit hold'em event. He finished third in the 2005 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship, winning $125,000. In 2008 he made the final table of the European Poker Tour Grand Final in Monte Carlo. He continues to have success in tournament play having cashed in two events of the WSOP (one being 24th of the Main Event) and a WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic. He is also a skilled cash game player and one of the most televised players in poker. He has appeared on both Poker After Dark and High Stakes Poker shows.
Antonio is excited about Victory Poker and when asked why he teamed with this group he shared “Because it makes sense. I love the team and believe in the people behind it. I know the guys on Team Victory and trust them 100%.”
