It’s fair to say that Stu Jones of the Florida Powerboat Club has his annual Key West Poker Run wired after producing it for 31 years. With 220 boats registered so far, sign-ups for the November 5-11 event are their typically robust selves. And there are three-and-a-half weeks to go before the first group departs the Miami and Coconut Grove area, so that number is sure to grow.
“We can still register a few more teams based on available docking and a small number of rooms remaining in our eight-hotel inventory,” Jones said.
In 2023, for example, Jones brought back the long-discontinued Tuesday departure wave. The move proved successful, so the Tuesday exit-option is back this year, as are the longstanding Wednesday and Thursday options.
“A noticeable shift toward the earlier departure days played well into our plans, as this spreads out the flow of boats over the three days making each day more manageable for the lunch venues and ourselves as organizers,” Jones explained. “It means less powerboat traffic at checkpoints for lunch and fuel.”…