Antonio Esfandiari Entertains in Another Deep WSOP Main Event Run
Table Of Contents
One of the most entertaining players to watch from a poker spectator's perspective is undoubtedly the man they call "The Magician." In addition to being a world-class poker player and the all-time WSOP money leader with $22,283,326 tallied over 50 cashes, Antonio Esfandiari is adept at stimulating table chatter with his amicable personality.
Among his 45 summer WSOP cashes, six of them have come in the $10,000 Main Event, his best finish being 24th of 6,494 runners in 2009. The biggest boost to his live earnings, WSOP or otherwise, of course came by winning the $1 million buy-in Big One for One Drop in 2012 for a top prize of $18,346,673.
Now raising a family with his wife, Amal Bounahra, Esfandiari has opted to spend more time at home rather than traveling for poker tournaments, which has especially shown over the past couple years at the WSOP.
This year, the Main Event was the only WSOP tournament he played and he made it count, putting together a deep run in the biggest $10,000 buy-in field in poker. Incidentally, his last WSOP cash came in last year's Main Event, where he finished 132nd of 7,874 entries for $57,010. Despite that run, Esfandiari hasn't won a big one in a while, so naturally he felt it was his time.
Haven't used up a one time in quite some time now. I feel due!! https://t.co/hB2QHCy6kZ
— Antonio Esfandiari (@MagicAntonio)
Magic Antonio's 2019 Main Event Run
Esfandiari did the "Shuffle Up and Deal" honors before things got underway on Day 5 Wednesday, during which time he engaged in some banter with fellow old-school poker pro Mike "The Mouth" Matusow who was also still competing in the event.
"You want to do a last longer you fish?" Esfandiari teased. "The greatest fish of all time, guys - Mike Matusow!"
Had they actually booked the side bet, Esfandiari would have cashed it in, though Matusow had a nice run himself before busting on Day 5 in 199th place for $50,855. Esfandiari would go on to make the next day with a healthy stack of 6,630,000 in the middle of the returning pack of 106.
His day got off to a shaky start when he attempted a rather large bluff against Christopher Ahrens blind versus blind. Unfortunately for Esfandiari, it was a bad spot as Ahrens held the best possible hand and he lost a chunk of his stack.
A little while later, he lost a big one to Dario Sammartino who got sticky and then got a lucky turn against the Magician. In that pivotal hand, Sammartino raised and called Esfandiari's three-bet and check-called a continuation bet from Esfandiari on the king-ten-five flop. All the chips went in on the jack turn and Esfandiari was on the bad end with ace-king against the turned Broadway straight of his Italian opponent, who held ace-queen.
Eventually, the rest of the Magician's chips disappeared when his pocket fives couldn't run down the pocket eights of Chris Hunichen, who flopped a set. Esfandiari did pick up a gutshot straight draw when a seven fell on the turn, but he couldn't make a six appear and his run was over.
An Impressive Main Event Record
Six Main Event cashes in the last 11 years is still an impressive feat by any standard, and that number is actually seven if you count his ninth-place finish of 405 entries in the 2013 WSOP Asia Pacific (APAC) A$10,000 Main Event. Here's a look at his summer WSOP Main Event cashes.
| Year | Place | Entries | Prize Money |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 24th | 6,494 | $352,832 |
| 2012 | 501st | 6,598 | $24,808 |
| 2015 | 168th | 6,420 | $40,433 |
| 2016 | 449th | 6,737 | $25,235 |
| 2018 | 132nd | 7,874 | $57,010 |
| 2019 | 82nd | 8,569 | $82,365 |
Based on his record and his reputation, this will not be the last that the poker world sees of The Magician, though we might have to wait until next year's Main Event to catch him playing tournament poker on TV again.
The 2019 World Series of Poker Main Event continues as the field narrows down to a final table and eventually to a $10 million winner, so keep following the live updates right here.
