Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open
Event 9: $250 Buy-In Seniors No Limit Hold’em
August 22-23, 2014
Entries: 144
Prize Pool: $30,240
RECAP
One of the most spirited and exciting events wrapped up in spectacular fashion as John Cofhlin III was crowned champion of the $250 Buy-In Seniors No Limit Hold’em tournament. John Cofhlin III (pictured above) took down the nine-handed final table picking up $9,526 along with a beautiful Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open trophy, a custom framed photograph with an event information plaque and commemorative pin provided by IMPDI . Coughlin III took this down on his off day, as he had already qualified for Day 2 of Event 8.
Coughlin III had to fight his way through a very difficult and unpredictable field of 144 players on his road to the title including his eventually heads-up opponent Robert Chow, Day 1 chip leader Yvonne McQuillan and “Miami” John Cernutto, who picked up his third cash in this series.
Coughlin III reached the final 27 players as the chip leader but failed to chip up and ended up holding on to his stack to reach the final table. Some wild hands took place including Robert Chow’s blind all-in call with 
taking out the jacks of Stanley Quinn and a massive series of clashes between Thomas Curtis and Mike Larkin on the money bubble with Curtis finally getting the best of it and propelling Curtis to the final table third in chips with Yvonne McQuillan and Stanley Rosenthal leading the way.
But Day 2 belonged to Cofhlin III and Chow as the two of them combined for six of the seven eliminations on the table. Cofhlin III hit a critical hand at the start of the final table against McQullian catching up to her 
with his 
and never looked back until heads-up play.
Chow started the match at about a 2.5-1 deficit but managed two double-ups and crept into the lead and quickly found himself all-in for the title with 
against Cofhlin III’s 
. But Cofhlin III rolled off quad nines on the flop and turn shocking Chow and taking the lead.
The final hand took place immediately after that as Chow took his shot with 7’s but was outflopped by Cofhlin III’s 
giving Cofhlin the title.
“I came in in the middle of the pack and things were moving slow and I told my buddies ‘I just need 15 mintues’ and I got it. I went from 100,000 to 350,000 then 350,000 to a million just like that.” said Cofhlin about the two huge heaters that propelled him into the chip lead.
Of the heads-up match and the wild finish, he said that, “I know Bob – he’s a very good player. And with two nines against the kings he’s supposed to win but the cards helped out.”
And there’s no rest for the Fort Pierce, FL resident as he heads into Day 2 of Event 8 on a roll and is looking forward to Sunday, “hoping he can run just as good tomorrow.”
Congratulations to John Cofhlin III, our Event 9 Champion!
FINAL RESULTS
1. JOHN COFHLIN III (FORT PIERCE, FL): $9,526
2. ROBERT CHOW (SCHAUMBURG, IL): $5,443
3. YVONNE MCQUILLAN (FORT MYERS, FL): $3,568
4. ALEXANDER BRODY (STATEN ISLAND, NY): $2,480
5. STANLEY ROSENTHAL (B GSOZ, KY): $1,845
6. LISA LEVY (DELRAY BEACH, FL): $1,421
7. RICHARD ARNO (MIRAMAR, FL): $998
8. RICHARD GLABMAN (CORAL SPRINGS, FL): $726
9. THMOAS CURTIS (DORAL, FL): $696
10. JERRY RAND (SAN DIEGO, CA): $635
11. JONATHAN MARKS (WESTON, FL): $635
12. STANLEY QUINN (DANVILLE, CA): $635
13. JOHN CERNUTO (LAS VEGAS, NV): $544
14. BRET BEEBE (AUBURN, AL): $544
15. WOODROW PASS (SEFFNER, FL): $544