Antonio Esfandiari is one person you wouldn’t want to see across from you at the poker table, unless you’re in the mood to lose lots of money of course. The professional player is one of the most recognizable poker champions in the world, boasting a lengthy list of high-profile titles. However, the profession Esfandiari has found himself in was not always his lifelong ambition. Born in Tehran as Amir Esfandiari, the living legend and his family moved to San Jose in California when he was nine years old. Due to his deep ambition to become a famous magician, Esfandiari changed his name to Antonio in an attempt to appear more enigmatic. Despite his success as a professional magician, Esfandiari discovered that his true calling lay in the world of poker after he was invited to play a game of Texas Hold ‘em. Employing the skills he had learnt as a magician, namely his elaborate chip tricks, Esfandiari went on to become one of the biggest poker players on the planet.

A regular face on poker television shows, Esfandiari has also become the face of organizations such as World Poker Tour’s Poker-Made Millionaire and UltimatePoker.com whilst amassing a comfortable 193.7K followers on Twitter. Esfandiari has also won three World Series of Poker and two World Poker Tours. In 2012, Esfandiari won the ‘Big One for One Drop’ poker tournament, making him the recipient of the second largest single payout in the global history of poker tournaments. However, Esfandiari’s exciting lifestyle, celebrity friends and lavish parties have not made him forget the importance of the magic of the game of poker.