Coming To Cancun: Mexico’s First Poker Run – Speed on the Water
The founder of the Cancun International Boat Show, Steven Lorenzo is as realistic as he is optimistic. He knows, for example, that the very concept of a poker-run will be tricky to translate for the largely incongruent marine industry south of the United States border.
A poker-run in Cancun, Mexico? Why not? Photo courtesy/copyright Tony Esposito.
But having launched Mexico’s first recreational boat show just three years in the famed getaway destination on the Yucatan Peninsula, Lorenzo is no stranger to challenges.
“The concept is very well known in the States but has never been done in Mexico before,” he explained during the most recent Cancun event earlier this month. “It’s going to be a hard sell, but I think we have the right graphics and the right message; once you say ‘poker’ the ears perk up.”
To be sure, go-fast V-bottoms are few and far between in Mexico, though the performance-oriented center-console market is steadily growing. What’s more, Mexican boat-owners—even those with vessels as small as 30 feet—prefer to have captains and crews on board so they can take in the scenery in comfort.
“That way, they are free to relax and enjoy their cocktails and spend more time with their family,” said Lorenzo. “The family nucleus is very important here.”
When he started the Cancun International Boat Show, Lorenzo’s goal was help unify Mexico’s boating industry while promoting recreational boating to the country’s growing middle class and upper-middle class. He believes that the Cancun Poker Run is the next logical step in promoting both the nautical lifestyle and tourism along with safe and responsible boating.
The event is slated for April 3-4.
“We’re the ones who push the envelope bringing concepts—not necessarily original ones, because these have been done and proven successful—and we’re bringing those strategies here,” he said. “It’s all about inviting people into the water, getting them on boats and in the water and planting that seed.”
Though the recreational boating world in Mexico than it is in the United States and Canada, Lorenzo believes a poker run is viable south of the border.
While the event will follow the familiar multi-card-stop, post-run celebration and poker-hand-play format, it will have a wrinkle In that participants won’t need to bring their own boats. That may be particularly attractive to would-be participants from the U.S. who’d be reluctant to tow their boats significant distances through a foreign country.
“If you’re flying in from somewhere else, you can charter a boat and be part of the poker run,” Lorenzo explained. “ And the other way to do it is our concept for a party boat. On the party boat you can actually see the poker run boats navigate and go by you—and you’re kind of in it, without actually collecting cards. You’re in it, you’re watching it up close, which is the only thing I have against poker runs: if you’re not in it, you have no idea what’s going on. You only see them at the bar.”
The charter option involves 45- to 60-foot yachts with a captain and a full crew. Each vessel can accommodate up to 10 guests. Prices, additional information and registration are available through the Cancun Poker Run website.
“We are going to have quality options,” said Lorenzo. “The Mexican market requires a level of luxury and we’re going to have it there.”
Editor’s note: Tony Esposito is the U.S. correspondent for International Boat Industry—a trade-media news portal—and the former director of sales and marketing for Mercury Racing. He has contributed several stories to speedonthewater.com.
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