Born Amir Esfandiari on December 8, 1978 in the capital city of Tehran, Iran, this world class Poker player was brought to the United States by his parents when he was nine years old. The family settled in San Jose where Amir attended school. He soon requested his name be changed to Anthony because his school mates thought the name Amir was strange.
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He had always been fascinated by the art of magic and by the time he turned nineteen, he had studied and learned enough about the craft to turn professional.
Antonio’s past profession stayed with him even after his success as a professional Poker player and his wizardry with the cards earned him the nickname “The Magician” as he is now known in Poker circles. Antonio says that he learned to “read” people as a magician and that this skill is helpful to him now as a Poker professional.
And a Poker wizard he certainly is! He is the youngest player to win a televised World Poker Tour Event, and the youngest Poker player to win a million dollar Tournament prize.
He gravitated to Poker the same way he did to magic. Antonio – he changed his name from “Anthony” to “Antonio” when he became a professional magician – is one of the lucky ones who has never had to “find himself” since he instinctively realized an interest in where his natural talents lie – magic and poker.
Antonio began playing Poker with friends, gravitated to casino play, read books on the subject and states that he relied on his ability to intensely focus on the subject at hand until he mastered it – particularly in Poker where his accomplishments thus far have been impressive:
– Over two million dollars won in Tournament play
– One World Series of Poker (WSOP) Bracelet
– Three World Poker Tour (WPT) Final Tables
Antonio Esfandiari’s Poker Winnings:
– January 2006 – $10,000 Main Event No Limit Hold’em – 11th place – $36,372
– December 2005 – $2,500 No Limit Hold’em – 26th place – $3,305
– November 2005 – Consolation Tournament Monte Carlo Millions Gold –
2nd place – $60,000
– June 2005 – WSOP $2,500 Short Handed No Limit Hold’em –
5th place – $63,020
– May 2005 – WSOP Circuit Event Harrah’s New Orleans $10,000 Main Event –
3rd place – $221,445
– April 2005 – Third Annual Five Star World Poker Classic $5,000 No Limit Hold’em – 3rd place – $122,035
– March 2005 – NBC National Heads Up Championship – 3rd place – $125,000
– May 2004 – WSOP $2,000 Pot Limit Hold’em – 1st place – $184,860
– February 2004 – WPT L.A. Poker Classic $10,000 No Limit Hold’em Championship – 1st place – $1,399,135
– November 2002 – WPT Gold Rush $3,000 No Limit Hold’em Championship
Antonio Esfandiari now makes his home in San Francisco. One of his goals is to open a restaurant with a magic theme.
Kenneth Bateman writes numerous articles on the subject of poker and its players. To read more player profiles, visit XL Poker.com.
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