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, known as the Magician, is undoubtedly one of the undisputed figures of Las Vegas and world poker.

His nickname is "The Magician".

His nickname doesn't just come from the feats he's capable of at the poker tables. Before becoming a gambler, Antonio Esfandiari was a magician. Born in Tehran, 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 trained for hours at home to finally fulfil his dream, at the age of 19.

From magic tricks to casino tables

His shows led 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, would steer him more and more towards the game. Little by little, Antonio Esfandiari traded in his magician's costume for the suit of a professional 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 up three months later with his first WSOP bracelet in a Limit Hold'Em tournament for a win of $184,860.

These acclaimed performances earned him invitations to several VIP tournaments and television 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.

Biggest win in the history of the game

Highly publicised until the end of the 2000s, the Magician nevertheless struggled to glean any more 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 hardly holds a candle to those High Stakes Poker counterparts who are churning out wins and bracelets.

The tide turned in 2010 when he won the Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic for $870,124. But more importantly, in 2012 he decided to enter the biggest tournament in the world: 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 and take home a whopping $18,356,673, the biggest prize ever won in a poker tournament. His record will not be broken until 2019 by Bryn Kenney.

The disappearance of the Wizard

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 brilliant moves. Apart from a final table at 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 will still be noticed for his daring bets with billionaire Bill Perkins where he will ban himself from eating bread or having sex for a year. One of his bets even led to him being excluded from the 2016 PCA Main Event for urinating in a bottle without leaving his table. The magic no longer really works for Antonio, 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.