The speed-boats were out ripping around on the water Saturday as Kingston played host to the annual Poker Run.
Founded in the early ’80s out of love for the hit TV show Miami Vice, Bill Taylor has taken the Poker Run from Canada to America, and even to the Bahamas.
“It is not a race, though, this is what is unique about it — it’s a game of chance and only the boat with the best poker hand will be the winner,” said Bill Taylor, founder of Poker Run America.
The participants travel to five different checkpoints collecting playing cards, with all of them being displayed at the end of the night and the boat with the best hand is declared the winner.
“It is not a Sea-Doo, it might not be an aircraft power boat, it’s anybody’s boat is a winner, it’s only in the cards.”
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The format keeps things exciting by focusing on luck instead of speed — luck that allowed Francois Auclair to exceed expectations in his very first race last year.
“Actually, last time we won, we are the winner of Gananoque 2021,” said Auclair.
But as Auclair explains, winning isn’t what keeps him coming back.
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“It’s a nice event where we can see other competitors that share the same passion that we do, so it’s pretty cool every year to chat and share information regarding mechanical parameters and stuff like that.”
That social element is what has kept Dave Turnbull coming back for a quarter-century now.
“It’s like a big family that gets together twice, three times a year. It’s the same people you don’t see every day, it’s just somebody that you get to meet over the years and it’s been a blast.”
But it seems regardless of what hand you end up with at the end of the night, the experience can only be described as a royal flush.
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