One WSOP championship and one WPT championship
Antonio was born in Iran in 1978. He lived there until the age of nine, when his father moved the family to San Jose, California in search of a better life. Because they were poor and knew very little English, Antonio's attempts to fit in at school were often met with ridicule and rejection.
Antonio worked hard on his English. He got a job, and bought fine clothes and flashy toys. If his classmates didn't want to have anything to do with him, at least they were going to know that he was having more fun than they were.
Years later, Antonio was hard at work as a waiter and he saw a bartender perform a magic trick. Antonio was blown away. With intense single-mindedness, he threw himself into magic. He wanted to stand out, and he thought magic was going to be his pedestal. Not only did he master the tricks, he developed a showman's personality. Before long, he was working as a professional magician.
Antonio's entry into poker was equally accidental. His friend had entered a poker tournament and he came along for the ride. A smaller tournament was running at the same time, so he bought in for $30. A few hours later, he left a winner. And just like he had done with magic, Antonio poured himself into poker. He was routinely doubling and re-doubling his bankroll. He was on track toward playing for even higher stakes when he got derailed at the 2001 World Series of Poker and lost everything.
Undeterred, Antonio regrouped and, with the help of his friend and roommate Phil "The Unabomber" Laak, he climbed back into the game. In 2004, he entered the World Poker Tour's L.A. Poker Classic and won the biggest prize ever by such a young player - $1.4 million. Three months later, he went back to the WSOP and won a gold bracelet.
Today, Antonio stands very tall on poker's pedestal. He still likes the flashier things in life and, with more than $2.6 million in tournament winnings, he certainly can afford them – both for himself and his large circle of friends.
And yes, they're having a lot of fun.
