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It\u2019s late Sunday morning, positively the crack of dawn for a poker player, but Antonio Esfandiari looks fresh, decked out in jeans, a t-shirt and knitted sweater. Oh and some blue suede boat shoes, his close friend and fellow Premier League participant Phil Laak has just turned up and starts ribbing him. \u201cLook at those shoes,\u201d says Laak. \u201cThese shoes are money kid,\u201d says Esfandiari.<\/p>\n
And money is something Antonio Esfandiari knows a little something about, his win in the million-dollar buy-in Big One for One Drop tournament earned him over 18 million dollars. \u201cWinning the one drop was the greatest trick I ever pulled off,\u201d he tells me. \u201cI don\u2019t think the win has changed me personally, if anything I feel a little more humble and gracious because of that win because I feel as if I have some sort of ambassador role to poker, so I take a lot of responsibility with that. I want to make sure I represent the game of poker<\/a> the best I can.\u201d<\/p>\n Before the One Drop tournament Esfandiari said that he knew he was going to win. \u201cI\u2019d never had that belief that clear, I really believe that you have to believe you\u2019re going to win everything you\u2019re going to play. Confidence is key, in that tournament I was so clear it was crazy. In my mind I make myself believe I\u2019m going to win.\u201d<\/p>\n And going into the Premier League he\u2019s got a similar feeling, \u201cI feel great, my confidence level is through the roof. I believe that you win when you strive for success by putting yourself in a position to be successful. I\u2019m on a good sleep schedule, I\u2019m exercising, I eat healthy and I\u2019m there mentally.\u201d<\/p>\n As for his group there\u2019s one particular player he can\u2019t wait to play. \u201cOne of life\u2019s greatest joys is punishing Phil Hellmuth.\u201d<\/p>\n He leaves me with one sage piece of advice, \u201cNever take fashion advice from Phil Laak.\u201d<\/p>\n The PartyPoker.com Premier League VI continues with daily Live Streaming coverage here: bit.ly\/plpstream<\/a><\/strong> So who do you think is going to win? Let us know in the comments below and remember to follow us on Twitter <\/a><\/strong>and like us on Facebook <\/a><\/strong>now!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It\u2019s late Sunday morning, positively the crack of dawn for a poker player, but Antonio Esfandiari looks fresh, decked out in jeans, a t-shirt and knitted sweater. Oh and some blue suede boat shoes, his close friend and fellow Premier League participant Phil Laak has just turned up and starts ribbing him. \u201cLook at those<\/p>\nI\u2019m going to win<\/h3>\n
Punishing Phil Hellmuth<\/h3>\n
Watch All The Action and Join The Conversation!<\/h3>\n