Antonio Esfandiari Wins 2016 WSOPC Bicycle Casino for $226,785
March 30, 2016 1:13 pmAntonio Esfandiari may be second on the ‘All Time Money List’ with $26,722,352 in earnings, but “The Magician” hasn’t won a tournament title since 2012, when he captured a third career WSOP bracelet in Cannes at the €1,100 No Limit Hold’em event. For the whole of 2015, Esfandiari subsequently earned $228,881 from live events, but this year his winnings have almost already surpassed that amount after the 37 year-old triumphed at the World Series of Poker Circuit Bicycle Casino Main Event for $226,785.
A total of 756 players entered the $1,675 WSOPC Bicycle Casino main event to create a prize pool worth $1,134,000. Amongst the notable pros then seeing a return on their investments was Alan Engel in 50th ($3,675), Nam Le in 39th ($4,080), James Woods in 30th ($5,955), David Baker in 19th ($9,605), and Nipun Java in 18th ($11,535).
On Day 4, twelve players returned to the action, and two hours later the final table of nine was set. At this stage, the 2006 WSOP Main Event champion Jamie Gold was out in front as the chip leader, while Esfandiari was all the way back in 5th spot.
Esfandiari then began to spin his magic, and by the time just four players remained, Esfandiari had Gold outgunned in the chip department by 5 to 1. Heads-up between the two pros saw Esfandiari extend his lead to 11 to 1, and soon after the deciding hand was played with Esfandiari (A-2) and Gold (A-K) going all-in on an A-5-2 flop. The 2 and 8 on turn and river sealed the deal, and so Antonio Esfandiari was crowned the 2016 WSOPC WSOPC Bicycle Casino winner.
Meanwhile, Gold had to settle for a runner-up finish worth $139,820, which boosted his live career earnings to $12,586,358, of which $12 million came courtesy of his WSOP Main Event victory a decade ago.
Final Table Results:
1: Antonio Esfandiari $226,785
2: Jamie Gold $139,820
3: Barry Woods $103,080
4: Ray Henson $76,830
5: Alex Greenblatt $58,025
6: Bryn Kenney $44,395
7: Blaise Hom $34,395
8: Ludovic Geilich $26,980
9: Jackduyph Duong $21,420