Seat 5: Ali Eslami
Ali Eslami is a professional poker player currently residing in Los Angeles area with over $300,000 in career tournament winnings. His largest cash came when he finish in 49th place in the 2004 World Series of Poker Main Event for $45,000, a number he has already surpassed in this event after winning his first table for $40,000 and collecting three bounties, totaling $6,000.
Primarily a high-stakes cash game player, Eslami joined Phil "The Unabomber" Laak in July 2007 to participate in the infamous competition against Polaris, the University of Alberta poker computer program. Eslami and Laak defeated the bot in two out of four matches and split a $10,000; in addition they tied a third match and earned an additional $2,500.
Eslami defeated a Round 1 table that included Allen Kessler, John Hennigan, Dennis Phillips, Joe Serock, and George Lind III.