Antonio Esfandiari is set to play on Hustler Casino Live’s High Stakes Friday on September 5. Joining him at the table are Nik Airball, Señor Tilt, Steve, and Han.
It’s his first appearance on a livestream since last December, when he finished as the big winner on another Hustler Casino Live stream.
After buying in for $50,000, Esfandiari finished that session with a $298,500 profit — helped along by hands like the one below against Kennen, where he flopped the nut flush with 
. Kennen held 
and couldn’t find a fold through the 
runout as Esfandiari bet all three streets.
Esfandiari was active throughout and dominated the night — despite losing the biggest pot in a cooler against Kennen.
He also appeared on Season 6 of No Gamble, No Future, which aired in April this year, as well as the PokerStars Big Game on Tour.
Esfandiari happily retired with his family
Aside from these guest appearances, Esfandiari has largely stepped away from the poker scene. He boasts $27,810,802 in live tournament earnings, including the second-largest cash of all time — $18,346,673 — for winning the inaugural $1 million buy-in Big One for One Drop at the 2012 WSOP.
He hasn’t recorded a tournament cash since he had a deep run in the 2019 Main Event, where he finished 82nd.
And, speaking with PokerOrg last December, Esfandiari said he was enjoying family life too much to consider a full-time return to poker.
In his post-poker life, Esfandiari is living the dream and spending as much time with his kids as he can. “That entails a lot of outdoor activities,” he said. “Whatever I can do to get my kids outdoors and have an adventure. And if we're not traveling, I honestly just love being at home with my kids. Putting my kids to bed, doing their homework, and then getting into bed at nine o'clock is a dream day for me.
“Similar to how when I was in my 20s, going out every night — I knew I was only going to be in my 20s once, so I maximized my partying. Now, here we are — my daughter, and also with my boys — I know this age will eventually pass, and they won’t want to hang out with me as much as I want to hang out with them. So I’m trying to maximize that as much as I can."
In his poker days, Esfandiari was known as The Magician — and it seems like he’s conjured up the perfect post-poker life on the back of a golden run. Can he pull off one more card trick on Hustler Casino Live this Friday night? Watch the action live on the HCL YouTube channel. The stream kicks off at 4:30pm PT.
In the meantime, you can watch the highlights of his last livestream session below.
Feature image courtesy of PokerGO.
