Esfandiari Tops Jamie Gold to Win WSOPC Event in LA

Published on 2016-03-31 16:34:00

2006 was a much simpler time for the poker world. The game was absolutely booming, as evidenced by the turnout for the 2006 World Series of Poker main event. The UIGEA hadn't been passed into law as of yet, and companies such as Party Poker were still operating inside of the United States.

Following his win in the 2006 World Series of Poker main event for $12 million, Jamie Gold was (temporarily) atop the all-time tournament cash list, ahead of players such as Daniel Negreanu, Phil Ivey and Phil Hellmuth (all three, plus a number of others, would eventually pass Gold).

After his win, Gold slowly faded out of the spotlight. After some very unsuccessful appearances on "High Stakes Poker", Jamie Gold was largely absent on the tournament circuit.

Antonio Esfandiari, on the other hand, has managed to stay relevant on the poker tournament scene for well over a decade. Esfandiari, who made his first big splash at the 2004 LA Poker Classic (which he ended up taking down for $1.4 million), now has roughly $27 million in total lifetime tournament cashes.

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Earlier this week, Esfandiari and Gold took poker fans in a time machine back to 2006 after they got heads-up at the WSOPC main event in Los Angeles.

In the end, Antonio Esfandiari got the better of Gold, taking home $226,785 and a $10,000 seat into the WSOP Global Casino Championship, while Gold took home $139,820 for his second place finish. This was Gold's largest cash since 2006.

Coincidentally, Gold's exit from the tournament came when he held "top top" after a flop of A-2-5. Gold was more than happy to put his chips into the middle of the table holding A-K, though Esfandiari had him chips with A-2 for two pair. The turn improved Esfandiari even further with another 2, sealing his victory in the event.

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Filed Under: Live Tournament Results