Antonio Esfandiari

Antonio “The Magician” Esfandiari (born Amir Esfandiari, December 8, 1978 in Tehran, Iran) is a professional poker player.

He moved to San Jose, California when he was 9 years old, along with his family.

At the age of 19, he changed his name to Antonio, and became a professional magician. While he was performing magic, he was invited to a game of Texas Hold ‘em and started to play poker. In 2004, he won close to $1.4 million at the Commerce Casino. He won his first World Series of Poker bracelet a few months later in Pot-Limit Texas Hold ‘em.

Esfandiari appeared in the second and third seasons of the Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament. After finishing dead last the previous year, Antonio was able to redeem himself with an impressive 2nd place finish the third season. He was also in the first four seasons of GSN series High Stakes Poker and each season of NBC Poker After Dark.

While touring the poker circuit, he often shares a room with Phil Laak. He is also known for his chip trick techniques.

As of 2007, his total live tournament winnings exceed $2,700,000.