Antonio Esfandiari

In July of 2012 Antonio Esfandiari won the largest tournament in the history of poker, catapulting himself into the stratosphere. In a field of 48 high caliber players and broadcast live on ESPN, Antonio meticulously maneuvered his way to a victory in the $1 million dollar buy-in event and captured the first place prize of over $18 million dollars along with his second WSOP bracelet.

With two WPT Championship titles, eight WPT final tables, two World Series of Poker bracelets, and over $23 million dollars in career tournament winnings, Antonio is the highest earning professional poker player of all time.

Antonio Esfandiari moved to the United States at the age of nine, and the natural showman now finds himself living the American Dream through the life of a poker superstar. During his college years, Antonio became interested in performing magic and practiced 12 hours a day until he mastered the art. After a stint as a professional magician, he was introduced to the game of poker and now focuses his efforts on making opponent's chips disappear.

Antonio began making a name for himself in the poker world in February of 2004, when the relative newcomer would win nearly $1.4 million dollars for his first place finish in the WPT's LA Poker Classic $9,900 No Limit Hold'em Championship Event. Proving the win was no fluke, Antonio quickly followed up the victory by capturing first place in the WSOP $2,000 Pot Limit Hold'em event, earning himself his first WSOP bracelet.

Esfandiari would spend the next few years travelling the globe, mastering his play, and adding a litany of five and six-figure cashes to his bankroll. In 2009, Antonio's poker talents were further showcased during the WSOP Main Event, where he fought hard throughout the prestigious and grueling tournament and finished in 24th place, taking home over $300,000.

Antonio is a featured columnist for Bluff Magazine, and regularly appears as a commentator on many of the most widely broadcasted poker shows in the world. Antonio starred in the TV show "I Bet You," was a featured player in the Activision World Series of Poker video game, and has a WPT sponsored book to his credit. The sky's the limit for this poker supernova.