Stu Jones, leader of the Florida Powerboat Club, says he is “picking up all the pieces” following his epic Key West Poker Run that took well over 200 teams from Miami to the USA’s Southernmost city for six days of fun, sun and Race World Offshore‘s Key West Offshore World Championships. Jones also revealed his group’s 2020 schedule, which will closely mirror this year’s itinerary. (See below for the complete schedule.)

• Miami To Key West Poker Run 2020
• Miami To Key West Poker Run 2018 Schedule

Jones said the 2019 poker run season outpaced previous years, and credited the strong economy for the growth.

“In 1993, our first year, we had 22 boats. It was a Sonic event that had started as an owners’ rendezvous. I was hired to run it by the new owners of Sonic. We didn’t call it the Key West Poker Run. We called it the Key West Rally. We would stay in Marathon and boat down to Key West for the offshore race days.”. 2018 Poker Run Calendar 2018 Poker Run Calendar - January 26-28 Winter Poker Run to the Florida Keys Florida Powerboat Club key west poker run 2019 pictures Miami, Florida February Miami Boat Show Poker Run, Miami, FL Florida Powerboat Club (954) 545-1414 jackie@flpowerboat.com March 22-25 Tampa Bay Poker Run, Tampa Bay, FL Florida Powerboat Club (954) 545-1414 April 18-22 20th Annual Desert Storm Poker Run and Shootout Lake snoqualmie casino weather Havasu City, AZ. Known as Phil Peterson’s Poker Run, thousands of riders from all over the country enjoy this classic motorcycle ride. Starting in Miami and winding all the way down US 1 to Key West. During the ride, the motorcycle riders make 5 stops to draw a playing card. At the end of the ride, the person who drew the best hand wins!

“This year turned out to be really successful, in that we launched a lot of new events and we set records on some of our bigger events, like the Key West Poker Run,” he says. “I think it reflects the state of the economy being at a very high level. The sport continues to grow, just because it’s a great sport and a great way to enjoy performance boating. We’re getting more people coming into this sector, and that’s why these events have become more successful. Seeing Key West go to record numbers, and going off without a hitch, was a real highlight.”

It’s been just about a decade since Jones operated his ubiquitous pace boat, 39′ Nor-Tech King of Clubs, which was a familiar fixture on FPC’s numerous runs through the years. This year, Jones could be seen driving his Project 1080 Cigarette (showcased in the May issue of Speedboat Magazine) during nearly every one of his group’s events, which was another red-banner moment.

Miami To Key West Poker Run 2020

“We put in 150 hours on the boat from January to November,” he reports. “That was a highlight for sure. The fact that I could start enjoying these poker runs in my own boat put a different slant on it for me and made them more enjoyable. Certainly one of the reasons it made my Key West run more fun is that I was able to drive my own boat all the way there and all the way back, and I haven’t been able to do that for a long time.”

The Cigarette project boat celebrates the club’s 25th anniversary and perfectly captures the whole spirit of what the poker runs are for Jones. “It was truly special for me,” he says, “and I think it was one of the reasons I really enjoyed the 2019 Key West run.”

Jones says that the international participation at his club’s events continues to expand, “not only from Canada, which has always been strong, but European boaters are making transatlantic crossings, putting their boats on freighters and bringing them over here for the season to enjoy,” he says. “We had about 10 teams this year from European nations—all of them had brought their boats over for this event.”

With more participants than ever, the onus was on FPC to give away a colossal amount of shirts and other goodies. “It all goes bye-bye at Key West—we finish it off there,” he grins. “There might’ve been a few things left over. Smalls and mediums.”

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Miami To Key West Poker Run 2018 Schedule