Retired Poker Star Antonio Esfandiari Proves He Still Has it with Massive HCL Win
Antonio Esfandiari isn't back full-time playing poker, but he proved he can still play cards with a dominant performance Wednesday night on Hustler Casino Live.
"The Magician" crushed a high-stakes table mixed with pros and recreational players at Hustler Casino in Los Angeles. Esfandiari gave up poker professionally a few years ago for the family life. But he still occasionally pops up on livestreams or at the World Series of Poker (WSOP), although he was non-existent this summer.
The second such appearance on Hustler Casino Live in recent weeks ended with a six-figure profit, thanks in part to a tough call he made against an unpredictable opponent.
Esfandiari is Back
Esfandiari, a popular pro on TV during the poker boom era, would finish the six-hour livestream with a $348,100 profit in the $100/$200 no-limit hold'em cash game that played bigger. He was the biggest winner at the table, by a wide margin, although Brandon Steven booked a $189,100 win.
Sam Kiki ("Senor Tilt"), founder of the Monkey Tilt online casino, was the biggest loser, down $258,300. Much of those losses went to Esfandiari, including one hand where he overbet bluffed the river after missing his draw.
Kiki limped the straddled pot on the button with 8♣6♣. Han, in the small blind with Q♥2♣, called. Esfandiari, holding A♣4♣ in the blig blind, raised to $3,000, only receiving a call from Kiki.
The flop came out 7♦5♠Q♠, enticing only to Kiki, who picked up an open-ended straight draw. Esfandiari checked before calling a $4,000 bet with ace-high.
The turn was the A♦, which made it difficult for Senor Tilt to continue bluffing, as it gave his opponent top pair. Esfandiari decided to lead out for $10,000 this time. That bet earned a call, and neither player improved on the 8♠ river card.
Esfandiari, concerned with the potential flush draw coming through, checked. Kiki, stuck on eight-high, bet $70,000, about twice the size of the pot. That put his opponent, who only had top pair, in a difficult position, knowing the bet size was polarized, meaning he was likely up against nothing or a flush.
The Magician, following a lengthy tank, put the $70k in the middle and took down a $175,000 pot. He was already up nearly $200,000 at that point in the stream. That hand was just icing on the cake for one of his best livestreamed performances in years.
Esfandiari has $27.8 million in live tournament cashes, according to The Hendon Mob. His most prominent win came in the 2012 Big One for One Drop, a $1 million buy-in WSOP event he conquered for $18.3 million.
Esfandiari won an even bigger pot later with pocket kings against Doc Hollywood's pocket nines. Both players agreed to run the board twice for the $237,000 pot, and kings held up both times.
Kiki, however, continued running poorly. He lost a $100,900 pot to Steve, the player who benefited from the infamous Tom Goldstein blunder during the 2024 Hustler Casino Live Million Dollar Game. Steve turned a straight to crack Kiki's flopped two pair.
Hustler Casino Live is back with more high-stakes poker action Thursday night at 5 p.m. PT. Nik Airball and Kiki are among those scheduled to compete.
