Antonio Esfandiari (The Magician)

His smile and chip tricks have been featured on all the major poker TV shows. His charisma and eye-popping performances have made him one of the game's icons. A fixture on the circuit since the early 2000s, Antonio Esfandiari, also known as the Magician, is undoubtedly one of the key figures of Las Vegas and world poker.

His nickname doesn't just come from the feats he's capable of at the poker tables. Before becoming a gambler, Antonio Esfandiari was in fact a magician. Born in Teheran, the man then known as Amir moved with his family to California at the age of nine, taking the first name of Anthony. In San José, the boy wanted to become a professional magician. He changed his identity again, thinking that "Antonio the magician" would be a better stage name. He practices for hours at home to finally fulfill his dream, at the age of 19.

From magic tricks to casino tables

His performances lead him to play in the region's gambling establishments. It was there that he discovered poker, in the early 2000s. His meeting with Phil Laak, a young player as extravagant as he was talented, steered him more and more towards the game. Little by little, Antonio Esfandiari swapped his magician's costume for that of a professional gambler. At the end of his career, Antonio Esfandiari has become a professional poker player.

The year 2004 marked a turning point in his career. Playing in one of his first $10,000 tournaments, Antonio won the WPT Championship in Los Angeles for a staggering $1,399,135. Confident, the magician followed this up three months later with his first WSOP bracelet in a Limit Hold'Em tournament for a win of $184,860.

These acclaimed performances earn him invitations to several VIP tournaments and TV shows. The Pokerstars Invitational Tournement, Poker After Dark, Full Tilt Poker Million and, of course, the High Stakes Poker open their doors to Antonio Esfandiari.

These outstanding performances lead to him being invited to several VIP tournaments and TV shows.

The biggest win in the history of the game

Highly publicized until the late 2000s, the Magician nevertheless struggled to glean further big wins. He achieved several six-figure performances, reaching the final of the William Hill Grand Prix in Cardiff, at the 2008 EPT Monte Carlo or at the 2009 WSOP Main Event. But he's hardly keeping up with his High Stakes Poker counterparts, who are racking up wins and bracelets.

The situation unlocks in 2010, when he wins the Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic, for $870,124. More importantly, in 2012 he decided to enter the world's biggest tournament: the famous Big One for One Drop and its $1 million buy-in. He beat a more-than-strong Field of 48 players to beat Sam Tricket to win a whopping $18,356,673, the biggest win ever recorded for a poker tournament. His record won't be broken until 2019 by Bryn Kenney.

The disappearance of the Magician

Placed at the top of the All-Time Money List after this success, Antonio would soon be overtaken by Daniel Negreanu. Less competitive, he continued to play the circuit without too many big hits. Apart from a final table on the Little One for one Drop and a WSOP-C ring obtained in Los Angeles in 2016, Antonio will gradually disappear from the poker spotlight.

He'll still be noticed for his daring bets with billionaire Bill Perkins, where he'll forbid himself from eating bread or having sex for a year. One of his bets even led to his exclusion from the 2016 PCA Main Event, for urinating in a bottle without leaving his table. The magic doesn't really work for Antonio anymore, but he belongs to that category of legendary players who have raised the profile of poker in the media and made a whole new generation of players love it.