Antonio Esfandiari is back in Las Vegas to play poker on TV and he's having a great time — but don't get him wrong — he would rather be home with his kids.
The three-time WSOP bracelet winner with nearly $28 million in lifetime earnings has been away from the competitive scene for some time. His last recorded cash on The Hendon Mob was an 82nd-place finish in the 2019 WSOP Main Event, and that was his only result that year. The last time Esfandiari turned in anything that resembled significant tournament volume was in 2016 when he cashed in six events at the WSOP.
Now, Esfandari returns to poker TV, where he recently sat down for Season 2 of The Big Game on Tour at the NAPT in Las Vegas before he spent some time at the PokerGO Studio filming upcoming episodes of No Gamble, No Future. Esfandiari also paired up with F1 driver Charles Leclerc in a heads-up challenge that pit the duo against Leclerc's teammate Carlos Sainz Jr. and Michael Phelps for Global Poker Table Talk on the eve of the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
It's a whirlwind of activity for someone who is now completely devoted to life as a father.
'Bed at 9 o'clock is a dream day'
"It's a bit nostalgic coming back into the arena, so to say," Esfandiari told PokerOrg on a break at PokerGO Studio. "I don't know if I would go as far as saying I missed it. I mean, I missed the banter and the degeneracy of the poker, obviously, because I do think that people play so different when they're on television. Everybody wants to be a hero. And so that's been kind of interesting to be a part of. But overall, I've really had a good time the last few filmings. It's been great."
But in a post-poker life, Esfandiari's only passion is trying to maximize my kids' experiences, he says. "And so that entails a lot of outdoor activities. Ski season is approaching and so we'll be skiing basically every weekend."
Outside of ski season, it's camping, kayaking, and other summer trips. "Whatever I can do to get my kids outdoors and have an adventure, something athletic, that's what I'm all about. 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."
Esfandiari has three children — two boys, nine and seven years old, and a daughter who is now three.
"My two older boys are pretty beastly. Skiing is their number one favorite thing. So we do a lot of that. We live pretty close to the beach, so we can do a lot of biking on the beach. We'll go swimming in the ocean all the time. Even a week ago, the water was pretty cold. It was about 58 degrees and my seven-year-old out of nowhere just said, 'Let's go jump in the ocean.' And the last thing I wanted to do was go jump in the ocean when it's 58 degrees. But I'm never going to say no because it's my kid. So obviously we went and just jumped in the ocean, had a great time. I always want to push them as much as I can."
Maximizing everything
With fatherhood a primary concern, Esfandiari has no immediate plans to return to the poker scene on a regular basis, but kids grow up and leave the house and parents become empty-nesters. Does he envision a full return to the game down the road?
"I've thought about that, but that's a long way away. Right now for me, traveling to play poker or poker tournaments is not really feasible because I would miss too much at home."
For example, PokerOrg talked to Esfandiari on a Tuesday. He was set to complete filming of Global Poker Table Talk and he needed to be back in Las Vegas on Thursday.
"I'm thinking about just flying home after this on the last flight tonight just to be with her tomorrow and then coming right back Thursday morning because I just can't go without her. She's so freaking cute and adorable and I'm so in love with her and you know, she owns my soul in a different way than my sons and so I want to spend as much time with her as I can between the ages of three and five are the absolute nut-nut, like it doesn't get better. You know, she's three and a half. I got like another year and a half or so before that like cuteness is gone. I mean, it's not gonna be gone. It just won't be the same."
"Similar to how when I was in my 20s, going out every night, I knew that I was only gonna be in my 20s once. And so I maximized my partying as much as I could because I knew that one day I would be older. So now here we are, my daughter, and also with my boys. Like I know that this age is going to eventually go and they won't want to hang out with me as much as I want to hang out with them. And so I'm trying to maximize that as much as I can."
Photos courtesy of PokerGO/Antonio Abrego/Global Poker
