Antonio Esfandiari lost a ton of cash to Phil Hellmuth recently in three heads-up poker matches. But the Iranian poker pro still had plenty of money to buy himself a brand new mansion in the Los Angeles area.
The former magician has always lived a lavish lifestyle ever since becoming a professional poker player in the early parts of this century. He's cashed for over $27 million in live tournaments, most notably the $18.3 million score for winning the 2012 WSOP $1 million buy-in Big One for One Drop, and has won millions more playing in juicy high stakes cash games.
So, he could certainly afford losing $350,000 to his friendly rival, Hellmuth, over the course of three matches, all of which he lost. The poker player is now spending more money, but this time on assets instead of gambling losses.
Esfandiari is living the high-life
It's good to be Antonio Esfandiari. He's been living in a seven-figure high-rise condo overlooking the Las Vegas Strip for years. We even recently reported on that condo at Panorama Towers being robbed of over $1 million in cash, casino chips, and jewelry.
The family man is now taking his family, wife (Amal Bounahra) and kids, a bit west to Southern California. More specifically, the Venice beach area of Los Angeles, a hot tourist beach community with stunning views of the ocean. Esfandiari recently purchased a mansion in Venice for around $5.3 million.
This isn't the Esfandiaris' first home in Venice. They still own a "starter" property in the beach community valued at around $3.4 million. But they're moving on up even further, this time a 6,000 square foot home with five bedrooms and six bathrooms. The property is brand-new and construction recently completed.
Esfandiari will soon move his family into the sleek and contemporary white stucco home. He'll have plenty of room to host home games with his wealthy amateur poker friends. According to Variety, the home is a "soothing palette of light wood floors, large black framed windows, darker accent pieces, white walls and contemporary furnishings."
The property is described as "hotel-like," per listing information. Esfandiari will have a roomy kitchen, which includes double islands with marble panels. The poker pro's new pad is described as having a resort feel, which isn't a new concept to Esfandiari, whose luxurious Las Vegas condo is located near many of the biggest casino resorts in the world.
Antonio Esfandiari no longer plays poker full-time, so he'll have plenty of time to spend relaxing in his new Southern California pad. He said during the High Stakes Duel match against Hellmuth that he doesn't enjoy the game as much as he did years ago because the high rollers of today are boring.
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