It is hard enough to make a final table in a tournament. Making a final table twice in a 24 hour time frame is almost unheard of. That’s exactly what Don Todd did today at the Seminole Hard Rock “Rock ‘n’ Roll Poker Open”. Not content with his 9th place finish in Event 10, Todd came back to give it another go today in Event 12, a $240 Pot Limit Omaha 8 or Better tournament. It is a good thing he did, as he turned the shortest stack once they were in the money into the largest stack, and ultimately was able to prevail for the $4,958 first place prize.

The final table was not in the money until we reached 7 players and once that money bubble was burst our final table looked as follows:

After doubling up Don Todd, Errol Massey, a 41 year old professional poker player originally from Queens, New York made a stand at the wrong time. All the chips went in on a flop and with Mike Bruyere holding , leaving Massey in bad shape. The turn and river did not help him any and Bruyere’s nut flush scooped the pot and Massey was our first in the money elimination.

Errol Massey (Queens, NY), 7th place – $603

25 year old Matt Ezrol would get involved in a cooler with Arnold Cohen when the two would get it all in on a flop with Ezrol holding and Cohen holding . The turn was the and the river was the giving Cohen runner runner nut flush. Ezrol had Cohen covered by just 3K and he  would get his chips in the very next hand. He would flop a full house on the T-T-4 flop but Don Todd had T-9 and would river a 9 to give him a bigger full house. Ezrol is a successful local who has a $100,000 tournament score and a WSOP Main Event cash for $44,655 to his credit.

Matt Ezrol, 6th place – $804

Having moved up the money ladder with the two eliminations, a short stacked Steve Roth could wait no longer and he moved all in pre-flop and was called by Michael Rosenberg and Don Todd. The two bigger stacks checked it down to the river on the board with Rosenberg finally making a small 5K bet on the river. Todd folded and Michael turned over for the nut low and a ten high straight. It was good as Roth held . Roth adds another cash to go along with the numerous cashes he has in live Omaha tournaments

Steve Roth, 5th place – $1,005

With four players remaining, Arnold Cohen limped, Michael Rosenberg limped, and Don Todd raised the pot from the small blind. The big blind, Mike Bruyere, folded and Cohen decided to make the call. Rosenberg got out of the way and we saw a flop. Todd bet pot, committing his entire stack and Cohen made the call having him covered by 10K. Todd turned over for a flopped set of Aces and Cohen was drawing to a queen or running hearts with his . The turn was the wrapping up the hand for Todd with a full house. Todd would finish Cohen off on the very next hand.

Arnold Cohen, 4th place – $1,273

In three handed play, a set is usually a monster in any variation of Pot Limit Omaha. Mike Bruyere learned the hard way though that even a set is not a guarantee. The chips went into the middle quickly on a flop and both Don Todd and Michael were both all in. Bruyere turned over for a flopped set of 4′s but hist set was second best as Todd had for a flopped set of 10′s. “What a cooler,” groaned a shocked Bruyere. The turn was an Ace giving him a few outs to a bigger full house but the river was a blank and we were now heads up as Bruyere was eliminated.

Mike Bruyere, 3rd place – $1,809

Don Todd went into heads up play with approximately a 2:1 chip lead on Michael Rosenberg. The two saw a flop and Todd bet out 10K. Rosenberg potted it to 40K and Todd quickly put in another pot raise, this one to 130K. Michael seemed perplexed and only had about 20K behind if he decided to make the call. With a “what the hell” look on his face, Rosenberg put the rest of his chips in and Todd quickly called. The hands:

Rosenberg for top two pair.

Todd for top two pair as well but he also had a low draw and a flush draw.

The turn would be the giving Todd a low and a flush. “Oh no, I don’t know why I did that,” said a flustered Rosenberg. The river was the and Rosenberg was out in 2nd place.

Michael Rosenberg, 2nd place – $2,948

A 46 year old software engineer from Davie, Florida, Todd has had some success here at Seminole including a win at the Seminole Hard Rock Showdown in April of 2011 for $39,721. This was surprisingly his first ever live Pot Limit Omaha 8 or Better tournament. “They just don’t play it that often,” he explained, adding how much he loved the game because of all the mathematical decisions involved. Don told us that he loves playing at The Poker Room at Seminole Hard Rock and plans on playing the main event. Congratulations on your win Don!

Don Todd, Winner, Event 12 -$4,958

Final Results Event 12