Friday, May 18th, 2012
Blog > Antonio Esfandiari – Biography
Antonio Esfandiari is a TV fan favorite in the poker world. He is young, hip and fun to watch at the tables. He is known as “The Magician” for performing magic and chip tricks at the table.
He is good buddies with Phil “The Unabomber” Laak and they have a heated rivalry both on the felt and away from it. They even have their own TV show called “I Bet You” where they travel across the U.S.A. making proposition bets on everything imaginable.
Personal LifeAntonio Esfandiari was born on December 8th, 1978 in Tehran, Iran. When he was 9 years old, his family would move to San Jose, California in search of a better life. At 19, he would change his name from Amir to Antonio to better fit in with the community in San Jose.
He discovered magic as a teenager and performed tricks to earn better tips while working as a waiter. His tricks improved and he became a professional magician.
He discovered poker when he accompanied his roommate to a poker tournament at a nearby casino. He would win the tournament and from then on he was hooked on the game.
Antonio became good enough at poker that he quit his magician gig to play full-time. He rented an apartment with Phil Laak near the Bay 101 Casino so that they could play there all the time.
Antonio’s 1st TV appearance and taste of big tournament success would come at the World Poker Tour 49’er event where he made the final table and eliminated Phil Hellmuth.
A year later in 2004, he would win the World Poker Tour L.A. Poker Classic and $1.4 million. Magic Antonio had hit the big time!
Later that year, he would also win a coveted World Series of Poker bracelet in the $2,000 Pot Limit Hold’em event where he would face Chris Ferguson and Phil Hellmuth at the final table.
He is part of Victory Poker along with Playmate of Year Sara Underwood, Paul Wasicka and Andrew Robl.
His lifetime tournament winnings exceed $3.5 million.
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Tags: Auto, Draft, Magician, own tv show, phil the unabomber laak, tournament
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