Antonio Esfandiari to Make Poker Return on Upcoming PokerStars Big Game on Tour

Antonio Esfandiari is back. The poker boom era fan favorite who famously won the 2012 $1 million buy-in World Series of Poker (WSOP) Big One for One Drop is returning to poker for the second season of the PokerStars Big Game on Tour.

“The Magician,” who hasn’t played much poker the past few years, will compete in high-stakes cash games against a stacked lineup and a “Loose Cannon,” a non-pro chosen through an audition phase to be staked into a game that could change their life. Nikki Limo and Lily Newhouse were chosen during auditions at Resorts World during the 2023 North American Poker Tour (NAPT) series in Las Vegas.

Stacked Poker Game Lineup

Speaking of the NAPT, the PokerStars US event got underway at Resorts on Friday. The audition process for the next Big Game on Tour show Loose Cannons are underway. The winners of those competitions will get staked to face high-profile poker players such as Esfandiari and Phil Hellmuth, who competed in the game earlier this year.

The Loose Cannons won’t only be facing experienced poker pros. Rob Gronkowski, a future Hall of Fame NFL tight end and four-time Super Bowl champion, is slated to compete. Hustler Casino Live fan favorite Alan Keating, sports talk personality Nick Wright, and PokerStars ambassador Lex Veldhuis are among the star-studded cast of characters who will appear on the Big Game on Tour Season 2.

Esfandiari is, perhaps, the biggest get for PokerStars this season outside of “Gronk” given that he has essentially retired from poker. The three-time WSOP bracelet winner doesn’t show up to play in just any game these days. He didn’t even compete in the WSOP last summer and his last appearance on a major televised poker show — High Stakes Poker Season 10 — aired in February 2023.

But the Magician is back, and he’s going to be facing a stacked lineup of entertaining players including Hellmuth, one of the most recognizable faces in poker history. The Big Game on Tour is the new edition to the popular Big Game show, which aired in the early 2010s. PokerStars brought the show back last year (taped episodes began airing in 2024) and the relaunch was a rousing success.

Season 1’s games included Hellmuth, actress Jennifer Tilly, comedian Michael Ian Black, and numerous popular poker pros such as Phil Laak and Maria Ho. More of the same intrigue is expected when Season 2 launches in 2025.

Adding to the entertainment aspect of Season 2 will be the longstanding rivalry between Hellmuth and Esfandiari. The poker legends went head-to-head during the first PokerGO High Stakes Duel heads-up poker game in 2020. Hellmuth won all three matches for a $350,000 profit against “The Magician,” who will be looking to get some of that money back on the Big Game on Tour.

NFL Great Rob “Gronk” Gronkowski Playing PokerStars Big Game on Tour Season 2