Where Are They Now: Ali Eslami Returns to WSOP After Five-Year Hiatus
In the early 2000s, Ali Eslami was a familiar face at the World Series of Poker (WSOP). In 2011, he had a career-year with $509,932 in earnings and followed that up in 2012 with a $423,257 year. However, Eslami really hadn��t been seen since 2014 after he finished 81st in the WSOP Main Event for $85,812.
That��s why it was so surprising to not only see him firing Day 1 of Event #67: $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship, but also finish the 68 survivors as the chip leader.
��I haven��t been playing a lot of poker,�� Eslami told PokerNews on a Day 2 break. ��I��ve been traveling around, doing some investing, and doing other sorts of stuff. It��s good to get back into the swing of things.��
Nowadays when a poker player talks about investing they��re referring to crypto-currency.
"Coming back and playing a is a lot of fun. Sitting down, feeling the felt, and seeing all the same players."
��Yeah, I��ve been kind of involved in that,�� he admitted. ��Obviously now is not the time to be in there. Well, it��s getting back to being great I guess.��
So, what was to account for the sudden reemergence of a former pro with nearly $1.35 million in lifetime earnings?
��I only got here a couple of days ago. I played two other events,�� he said. ��It��s been a while since I��ve played.��
When asked when the last time he did play the WSOP Eslami thought back to 2014.
��That��s pretty much when I last played,�� he said without much confidence. ��I haven��t played an event in quite a while. I think I may have played the Main Event a couple of years ago but that��s about it.��
He continued: ��I play a little bit in L.A., once every couple months. It hasn��t been much. Coming back and playing a is a lot of fun. Sitting down, feeling the felt, and seeing all the same players. In the $10K I know a lot of the guys. I played some other events and didn��t know anybody, which is kind of fun too. That means they don��t know me. I thought that might be an advantage, that they don��t know I can play a little bit, but I��m, not sure I can play anymore. It��s been a while. A little rusty. I��m trying to get the rust off.��
So, has Eslami, a once prominent high-stakes cash game player who once appeared in the web-based TV show Bullets, been able to keep up with the ever-changing game.
��They��re playing a lot differently this year as far as no-limit hold��em from when I used to play. These little micro-bet things never existed, it was always 2/3 pot. Now it��s 1/5, 1/6 pot, which is really interesting. I guess it��s something new. I don��t know much about it. If I was going to play more I��d probably look into it more, see what it��s all about. I guess it��s some Game Theory Optimal thing.��
So, what��s in store for the man who topped a field of 98 entrants to win the 2011 WSOP Circuit Harrah��s Rincon $10,000 Regional Championship for $282,242 and a seat into the National Championship that year? Is a poker comeback in the cards or is he happy with the balance he��s found?
��I think [what I have now is] is nice. It makes it a lot more enjoyable,�� he said. ��I��m definitely going to play the Main, so I��m pretty excited about that.��
Be sure to follow PokerNews�� coverage of Event #67: $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship to see how Eslami fares in his return to the WSOP.
In this Series
- 1 Where Are They Now?: The 2003 WSOP Main Event Final Table
- 2 Where Are They Now?: The 1989 WSOP Main Event Final Table
- 3 Where Are They Now?: The 2002 WSOP Main Event Final Table
- 4 Where Are They Now: 2007 World Series of Poker Main Event Final Tablist, Phillip Hilm
- 5 Where Are They Now: 2006 World Series of Poker Main Event Final Tablist, Rhett Butler
- 6 Where Are They Now: 2003 WSOP Main Event Final Tablist, Tomer Benvenisti
- 7 Where Are They Now: 2005 WSOP Main Event Final Tablist, Steve Dannenmann
- 8 Where Are They Now: 2009 WSOP Main Event Final Tablist, Kevin Schaffel
- 9 Where Are They Now: 2006 WSOP Main Event Final Tablist, Dan Nassif
- 10 Where Are They Now: 2005 WSOP Main Event Final Tablist, Aaron Kanter
- 11 Where Are They Now: 2007 PCA Champion, Ryan Daut
- 12 Where Are They Now: 2003 Aussie Millions Champion Peter Costa
- 13 Where Are They Now: 2007 World Series of Poker Main Event Final Tablist, Raymond Rahme
- 14 Where Are They Now: Eric Crain
- 15 Where Are They Now: WPT Season 1 Stars Ron Rose & Chris Bigler
- 16 Where Are They Now: WPT Season V Borgata Poker Open Champ Mark Newhouse
- 17 Where Are They Now: WPT Season II Borgata Poker Open Champ Noli Francisco
- 18 Where Are They Now: WPT Season IX Foxwoods Poker Finals Champion Jeff Forrest
- 19 Where Are They Now: Adam Friedman
- 20 Off The Felt With Nadya Magnus: Where Are They Now?
- 21 Where Are They Now: Don Zewin, the Man Who Finished Third to Hellmuth & Chan in 1989
- 22 Where Are They Now: 1981 World Series of Poker Main Event Runner-Up Perry Green
- 23 Where Are They Now: 2007 World Series of Poker Main Event Finalist Lee Childs
- 24 Where Are They Now: 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event Bad Beat Victim Paul Snead
- 25 Where Are They Now: 2007 World Series of Poker Player of the Year Tom Schneider
- 26 Where Are They Now? Harrah's New Orleans Poker Dealer Darrell Guillory
- 27 Where Are They Now: Former Team PokerStars Pro Pat Pezzin
- 28 Where Are They Now: 2007 WSOP Main Event Fifth-Place Finisher Jon Kalmar
- 29 Where Are They Now: The Nine Past EPT Barcelona Champions
- 30 Where Are They Now: EPT Season 1 Barcelona Champ Alexander Stevic
- 31 Where Are They Now: 2006 WSOP Main Event 12th-Place Finisher John Magill
- 32 Where Are They Now: The Past Nine EPT London Champions
- 33 Where Are They Now: EPT6 London Champ Aaron Gustavson
- 34 Where Are They Now: EPT4 Baden Champ Julian Thew
- 35 Where Are They Now: Past EPT Prague Champions
- 36 Where Are They Now: 2011 WSOP Main Event Champ Pius Heinz
- 37 Where Are They Now: 2007 World Series of Poker Runner-Up Tuan Lam
- 38 Where Are They Now: Stan Schrier Reflects on Historic 2001 WSOP Final Table
- 39 Where Are They Now: Bracelet Winner Matt Hawrilenko Temporarily Comes Out of "Retirement"
- 40 Where Are They Now: Battling Multiple Sclerosis, Paul Darden Returns to WSOP Felt
- 41 Where Are They Now? Mike Gracz Returns To Poker After Three Years To Lead Event #31
- 42 Where Are They Now: 2004 Poker Boom Breakout Gabriel Thaler
- 43 Where Are They Now: "Minneapolis" Jim Meehan Pretty Much Out of Poker
- 44 Where Are They Now: Poker's Good Guy, a Survivor, and a Rogue
- 45 Where Are They Now: 2006 WSOP Stud Dmitri Nobles
- 46 Where Are They Now: Esther Rossi��s 7-Card Stud Journey
- 47 Where Are They Now: 2007 WSOP & WPT Champ Bill Edler
- 48 Where Are They Now: Fabian Quoss Announces His Exit from Poker
- 49 Where Are They Now: Jon Aguiar Fondly Remembers Tilting Brandon Cantu
- 50 Where Are They Now: Family & Business First for Adrienne ��TalonChick�� Rowsome
- 51 Where Are They Now: Xuan Liu Swaps Poker Passion for eSports
- 52 Where Are They Now: Alan Boston Offended to Return to WSOP After Long Hiatus
- 53 Where Are They Now: An 'The Boss' Tran Fighting Curse from Selling Bracelet
- 54 Where Are They Now: 1996 WSOP Chinese Poker Bracelet Winner Gregg Grivas
- 55 Where Are They Now: Ali Eslami Returns to WSOP After Five-Year Hiatus
- 56 Where Are They Now: Former EPT Champ Sander Lylloff Competing in Biggest Backgammon Duel in History
- 57 Where Are They Now: Dustin Woolf Back in Poker But Not as Player
