Miami Boat Show Poker Run Sold Out

Earlier this week, Florida Powerboat Club head Stu Jones headed to the Sagamore Hotel in Miami’s famed South Beach area for a few hours. Jones was on-site to finalize details and walk the property ahead of the Friday night, February 16 Florida Powerboat Club/Speed On The Water Miami Boat Show Bash, which is something he insisted on doing in person. Last year’s celebration, the first in seven years during the Miami happening, was a hit and there was no way he’d be happy with anything less this time around.

The 2024 Florida Powerboat Club Miami Boat Show Poker Run is already sold out. Photos from the 2023 event by Jeff Helmkamp copyright Helmkamp Photos.

But one thing Jones didn’t have to sweat this week? Participation in the Miami Boat Show Poker Run to Hawk’s Cay on Duck Key the following weekend. The second event of the Florida Powerboat Club 2024 season, the 29th annual happening is set for February 22-25 and is sold out at 70 boats.

“I don’t even have enough space left for a kayak,” he quipped, then laughed.

Asked if the quick sell-out had anything to do with the Miami Boat Show Poker Run’s new-for-2024 resort destination, Jones said it “may have been a factor.” But regardless of venue, he noted, demand for the event always has been a club-member favorite.

Though the poker-run fleet will make its traditional lunch-stop at Gilbert’s Resort and Tiki Bar in Key Largo, its final destination will be Hawk’s Cay Resort on Duck Key.

“We sold out the event when it was at the Postcard Inn,” Jones explained. “We had to turn people away.

“This is the one event that I’ve always said could be twice the size if we had a venue to accommodate that many boats, but that’s never been the case,” he added. “So we rarely get it past 60 or 70 teams.”