As a trained magician, Antonio Esfandiari is highly skilled at making things disappear. As a professional poker player, Esfandiari is just as skilled at making his opponents’ chips disappear.

Esfandiari immigrated to San Jose, California from Tehran, Iran when he was nine years old. In his new home, Esfandiari stumbled upon what would become two of his great loves in life – magic and poker. When he was 16 and working as a waiter, a bartender at the restaurant in which he worked showed Esfandiari a card trick. That one card trick was the beginning of a lifelong fascination with magic. Esfandiari began learning all he could about being a magician and went from entertaining customers at the restaurant to performing his own shows.

Esfandiari’s introduction to poker also came by chance after he followed a friend to a poker tournament. Esfandiari was introduced to the game that day and started developing the same affinity for poker that he had for magic. At first, Esfandiari went through many ups and downs at the poker tables, but through study as well as some help from his friend and sometimes roommate Phil Laak, Esfandiari began winning with regularity as he gained more and more experience with the game.

It is widely reported that in 2004 Esfandiari won $1.4 million in the Commerce Casino poker rooms. He also found great success on the tournament circuit that same year, with his WPT main event title in the L.A. Poker Classic and his first World Series of Poker bracelet in the Pot Limit Hold’em event.

An example of Esfandiari’s persistence and ability to improve is illustrated by the fact that he finished in last place in his first appearance in the Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament. The next season, undaunted, Esfandiari returned and this time chalked up a second-place finish.