9th Annual EMERALD COAST POKER RUN

They came from all directions and from dozens of states. A massive invasion of colorful fiberglass and shiny metal that converts this otherwise sleepy beach town into the center of attention for passionate powerboaters for three hot days in August. The event; The 9th Annual Emerald Coast Poker Run, an event that has doubled in size in just a few years, and one that raises a ton of cash for three great charities. The place; Fort Walton Beach Florida, nestled in the heart of a long stretch of white sandy beach between Panama City Beach and Pensacola…better known as Florida's Panhandle.

Casino Magic of Biloxi, Mississippi returned as the major sponsor, and a the local Fountain dealer, Pier 57 in Destin, pulled together the biggest Poker Run prize we've ever seen…a brand new 27' Fountain powerboat! Of course that wasn't all. An assortment of great prizes and plenty of cash pushed the value of the entire prize purse close to an estimated $100,000! With all the fanfare surrounding such a big event, it only made sense that as breakfast was served on Saturday morning at Elks Lodge, there would be a few heavy hitters lingering in the wings. One table found Poker Run organizers Alan Laird and John Springfield entertaining the likes of Reggie Fountain, Clayton Kirby, David Woods and Art Lilly…all preparing for a day of poker run fun.

Florida Powerboat Club members made their best showing ever for the Emerald Coast powerboating extravaganza. Out of the 188 boat fleet, well over forty registered poker run teams were recruited by Florida Powerboat Club. They came from Texas, Oklahoma, and Missouri and New Orleans to the west…from Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and the Carolinas to the north, and our growing base of members scattered throughout the Florida Panhandle were in full force. From Florida's Gulf Coast, our friends at Nor-Tech Hi-Performance returned as a sponsor for FPC's photo and video coverage of the event, and a pair of big fifty foot Nor-tech 5000's …David & Leann Branton's Happy Hour, and newcomer Dennis Hewitt's big yellow LunaSea raised the bar for those who subscribe to the "size matters" theory. Also joining FPC as a sponsor, and making their Poker Run debut were new members Rich Casa & Arthur James from Sarasota-based TITAN Marine, dealers for NORDIC Powerboats. Two Nordic 35's and a very
stout 28 footer put on a great show and opened a lot of eyes in the choppy waters outside the Destin Inlet.

A great afternoon of boating fun on Friday got the early arrivals off to a jumpstart, as thirty or more club boats rallied for a short romp offshore in the Gulf, and later gathered at AJ's Oyster Bar in Destin. With limited dockage at our disposal, we set a new record with about twenty five boats rafted together, and when a poorly tied boat broke it's mooring under stress from tidal current, some quick thinking on the part of a few members saved the fleet from drifting to the east side of Destin. (now those were some tense moments!!)

The Poker Run got under way on Saturday morning, and teams were faced with the challenge of acquiring up to ten poker cards at checkpoints that spanned fifty miles from East to West. But with light winds and calm waters throughout the ICW Poker Run course, it only made sense to start the day off with high-speed blast in the Gulf of Mexico, giving Poker Run teams a chance to crank up the speed, push the trim buttons up, and hang on! The result was some great photos and video, not to mention the exiliaration of a wild ride to start the day off. A welcome change to the format came in the form of a new checkpoint to the west…a small tiki bar restaurant called Banana Bob's, that replaced the Oyster Bar at Perdido Key. Located west of Pensacola at the FLA-AL state line, the Oyster Bar had presented a bit of a geographic challenge in recent years, especially when afternoon showers moved in, making it difficult for some to return to Fort Walton Beach on time to turn in their poker cards. Now, more than ever, with the Grand Prize of a 27' Fountain at stake, there wouldn't be too many teams missing the deadline to get their cards in!

Back at the Elks Lodge, the parking lot was jammed and the poker run party was at full speed. Nick Miller (Donzi Marine) was up on stage as he has been for years, handling the ceremonies with style and raising donations for the charities involved. Poker runners packed in like sardines in front of the Casino Magic dealers in the hopes of getting that perfect hand, while others huddled in an opposite corner of the room with eyes glued to the video on the big screen, waiting anxiously to get a glimpse of their boat in action earlier that day.

It wasn't long before the crowd swelled, the room temperature shot up as the A/C stuggled on the hot August night, and bar access got three deep! The bad news…the Emerald Coast Poker Run had finally outgrown it's banquet venue. The good news… the Poker Run reached an all time high for attendance and money raised for it's charities, and a whole bunch of crazy boaters had a lot of fun. Now, let's ask ourselves…isn't that all that really matters?

Stu Jones