2010 Lake Havasu Desert Storm Poker Run...

I'm making reservations tomorrow at London Bridge.

Tank, what day are you guys headed out? We'll go Thursday morning.
 
info on some places to stay for you guys:

There's still room available at the host hotel; The Nautical Inn. No slips, But there is beach parking and they have their own launch ramp.
http://www.nauticalinn.com/

The London Bridge Resort is great too and as of Sunday there's rooms available (that's where we just booked). Private docks at 40 bucks a night.
http://www.londonbridgeresort.com/

There's also The Agave right on the water, new hotel with really nice rooms. No docks but it has a sea wall right in front of the hotel and you can beach next to the hotel in the channel.
http://nationalparkreservations.com/...vasu_agave.htm

You can check with the Queens bay condos. You can reserve a slip at the London Bridge if you're staying at Queens bay.
http://www.lakehavasuresorts.com/queens-bay-resort.html

The Islander rents mobile homes and has a private launch ramp and boat slips.

http://www.islanderrvresort.com/c/rentals

There's also the brand new Pirates Cove bar, grille and resort...Which is up river about 10 miles, past the sand bar near Topac. It also has it's own launch facilities, marina with slips and has become a hot party spot.

http://piratecoveresort.com/


There's more but that should hold you guys over....
 
Isn't the street party starting at noon Thursday?

Yes, they are extending the street party from just an evening event to an "all day" event. Boats and vendors will start staging in the a.m. (8 I believe) and the street party will be in full swing by noon. It's also bigger this year (6 blocks) and there is more vendors. It's become a very big hit with participants.
 
Like I said, I haven't covered it, much less done it. What day was the fun run day, Bill?

I do like the idea of essentially taking a boat show "to the street." The people who attended, as well as the vendors, told me they loved it.
 
Sobriety was not on my side during that event, but I think Friday. The day before the actual poker run. Thats when lots of the really fast boats ran hard.
 
Like I said, I haven't covered it, much less done it. What day was the fun run day, Bill?

I do like the idea of essentially taking a boat show "to the street." The people who attended, as well as the vendors, told me they loved it.

With the ever growing popularity and size of this poker run, Jim was forced to re-organize the event. This ultimately led to replacing the lunch run that was a staple of the Desert Storm Poker Run for so many years, with the street party. The street party has become an overwhelming success and seems to double in seze each year. This year the street party is being extended to a full day and will cover 6 blocks (Thurs 4-22).

Jim is also working diligently on some other exciting events. I don't want to let the cat out of the bag but if it all comes together it will add Tues and Weds to the weeks events.

Block party, poker run, shoot out and races? Desert Storm
truly is in a class of its own and not an event to miss.

So Matt, are you going to make it out? Hope to see you there brother.
 
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A trip Ill never miss again. One of the most fun times Ive ever had on/around the water.. the women are incredible, too! And yes, you CAN enjoy yourself on this trip even if you dont have a boat. Just walk up and down the beach on the canal where all the boats are beached or wander around the bars and street party. PLENTY to do!
 
A trip Ill never miss again. One of the most fun times Ive ever had on/around the water.. the women are incredible, too! And yes, you CAN enjoy yourself on this trip even if you dont have a boat. Just walk up and down the beach on the canal where all the boats are beached or wander around the bars and street party. PLENTY to do!

Yea, I saw the pics of you guys last year....I wouldn't miss it if I were you either!!:eek::sifone::cheers2:
 
Updated info about Desert Storm from Jim:

It's looking like 2010 is going to be a banner year for Desert Storm! I'll cover some of the highlights here and additional information is available in attachments below. Please bear with me as I get long winded, there is a ton of things happening!!


Teague Custom Marine has stepped up their sponsorship of DS and have been promoting the event all over the country, we will be in Miami with them promoting the event at the Miami boat show next week! I have some meetings with some notable east coast companies and hope to bring even more participants to the event. The week after we will be staffing the Desert Storm Booth at the Los Angeles Boat show with some 2010 event shirts and 2009 videos for sale, yup they are finally finished!! Mercury Racing has come back to be part of the event in a big way. With IMCO, ILMOR, CMS Powerboats, Nordic Powerboats and Kachina Poweboats rounding out the top sponsors for 2010. Please see the attached flyer for all the great sponsors helping out this year!


We are increasing our charity involvement this year with the help of Joy Schou and the Platinum Powerboat Club. In addition to our normal charities, Soldiers Angles and Havasu for Youth, we are adding the Make-A-Wish Foundation to this year's event. Kicking off a day earlier than before, on Wednesday 4/22, we will be "Putin on the Wish"! With the Phoenix chapter of Make-A-Wish bringing our special guests out for boat rides provided by members of the Platinum Powerboat club who are here to participate in the Poker Run. If you would like to join in this special day and provide rides, please contact Joy at (239)470-6156. We are also inviting "Havasu for Youth" to bring deserving children to participate. An auction for the Foundations Benefit will be held Friday evening during our Poker Hand Opening Beach Party at the Nautical Resort cove.


The Street Party on Thursday will start earlier than before, we start moving the boats on to the street at 9:00 am with the show opening at Noon. Poker Run registration will be at the Schlotzkys restaurant starting mid afternoon, actual time to be announced. From early information coming in, the boats in the show will be more extreme than ever, both of Bob Teague Skaters, Chip Romer's new Skater, Gary and Rosemary Colleges new 40 Skater along with some first timers, Bob Christie of New Jersey and his 44 MTI "Speed Racer" and Jeff Stevenson and his JBS Racing Team's new Mystic 50ft Cat running John Aruba's Turbine Marine engines. You can see this boat at www.JBSRacing.com I'll have more street show news later in additional newsletters!


For the Poker Run on Friday, we're at about 50 boats preregistered so far, with more coming in daily. We'll have live bands playing at both poker run parties, Friday night at the Nautical Resort and Saturday night at the Aquatic Center. Once again we are hosting six active duty soldiers for the event with LakeRacer providing three hotel rooms and meals for them. Anyone who would like to adopt one or more of them for the Poker Run, please email me ASAP so we can see if we can even host more Soldiers. Don't forget to sign up for the Stereo Contest at the Nautical on Friday afternoon, Gazda Marine Services has put together a nice program!


On Saturday, the Shootout will follow a similar format as the last two years, with a possible lengthing of the course to counter the new format at Lake of the Ozarks event. They are beginning their runs at 30 MPH at their start line and of course that ups the possible speed a bit. With our course 1 ¼ miles and a standing start, we should be about the same J We are also planning for the Dixie Bell, our local three story paddle wheeler, to be course control and spectator central positioned at the course starting line. We will be selling VIP and special passes to view the Shootout from this location. On board will be refreshments and event shirts for purchase. Shuttle boats will be running between the Nautical Resort docks and the Dixie Bell for those who purchase tickets.


We are in discussion with the Pacific Offshore Powerboat Racing Association (POPRA) and American Powerboat Association (APBA), the sanctioning body for powerboat racing in the US including APBA Offshore, regarding the shootout being sanctioned as an APBA special event. This will increase the stature of the Shootout around the country and is causing some huge interest for groups who have never been to our event. Including Mystic Powerboats and the before mentioned RBS Racing who feel they can do well over 200 MPH and set some APBA records. Each Shootout team member running in each boat will be entered into APBA membership and given an APBA certificate for their highest speed.


Sunday's Offshore Race by POPRA is getting a surge in the number of boats racing by the work we are doing with ABPA. Brad Johnson, the new president of POPRA and his team have reached out to a number of teams and groups around the country and sparked interest in coming out. We are also planning a new event for Sunday that is open to the Poker Run participants and others performance boaters who will be in Havasu. For a small entry fee, you can try out what running on a real race course is like. We are setting up for P-class boats in five different classes, running on the course in pairs, with each pair of boats starting a half mile ahead of the next pair in the class. They will be competing for best times around the course and will not be allowed to encroach on their partner, by maintaining a 25 feet or greater separation. How about you and your buddy come out and run together, you can see what a race course feels like without the chance of messing up your cool paint job :0)


Please feel free to email me with questions or comments about the event. We still have a few rooms available at the Nautical Resort and should sell out in the next week, so call quickly if you've been thinking it's all sold out. For information, last years pictures and videos please visit www.lakeracer.com
 
More schedule of events info:

Wednesday April 21st

Lake Racer LLC/Desert Storm Poker Run Platinum Powerboat Club/Puttin’ on the wish presents a day with the kids. Poker run participants will volunteer their time (and boats) to this worthy cause and be apart of a memorable day.

For more info and to donate your time please visit

http://platinumpowerboatclub.com/

www.lakeracerllc.com

Or call 239-470-6165


Thursday April 22nd

Desert Storm Street Party

9:00 am – 12:00
pm set up.
12:00 pm – 9:30
pm Street party and boat show (open to all)

Event registration for poker run and shootout on McCullock across from Mad Dogs Saloon. Look for the Lake Racer motor home.

Friday April 23rd

Desert Storm Poker Run

8:00 – 10:00 am
Poker Run sign in – Nautical Resort cove area. Shoot out registration open all day.

8:30 – 9:00 am
Poker Run captains meeting – Nautical Resort Cove. Mandatory attendance for all captains!

10:00 am
Fleet gathering for the channel parade – Thompson Bay off Nautical Inn beachfront.

10:45 am – 1:00 pm
Havasu Springs Station #1 card stop (sponsored by Wozencraft Ins.)

Havasu Landing Station #2 card stop (sponsored by Nordic Boats)

Thompson Bay Station #3 card stop (sponsored by Extreme Marine)

11:00 am – 2:30 pm
Lunch – pick one of the many restaurants available and enjoy!

2:30 – 4:30 pm
Afternoon run, no official start due to permit rules. Take your time and enjoy the lake.

Photo Station open (Sponsored by Pirate Cove Marina) – Helicopter photo included with your registration. In order to obtain an areal photo participants are reuired to visit the photo station and line up for the helicopter photos. Boats are released one at a time. Participants will receive two or three great photos! (Suggestion – max speed 60 mph).

Black Meadow Landing Station #4 (Sponsored by Evo Boats)

Crazy Horse Station #5 (Sponsored by Az. Hot Boats)

3:00 – 6:00 pm
Stereo Contest by Gazda Marine Services and Rockford Fosgate
Judging will take place at the Nautical Inn Resort Parking Lot and the Nautical Inn Docks
Awards will be handed out at the Banquet on Sat. night.
Cash Prizes will be awarded based on number of entries.
Judging will be based on:
Installation
Installation Creativity
Sound Quality
For more info contact Gaza Marine Services (602)-292-2207


6:30 – 9:30 pm
Poker Run outdoor party…Music, Pizza and Budweiser at the Nautical Resort Cove.
Poker hand turn in will be at the event registration tables. Visit with your friends and our sponsors! Enjoy the evening. Lines tend to be long, so relax, enjoy yourself, and check back when the lines are shorter.

Saturday April 24th

Desert Storm Shootout

Run the two mile course from Thompson Bay to Copper Canyon along the Arizona Shoreline. With over 30 different classes available, you’ll compete against boats like yours! Safety equipment is required; see rules in your registration packet.

8:00 am
Drivers meeting

8:30 am
Tech inspection begins at starting line (near houseboat).

9:00 am – 12: pm
Shootout – Thompson Bay in front of The Nautical Inn

12:00 noon – 1:30 pm
Lunch Break

1:30 – 4:00 pm
Shootout continues – Thompson Bay

Dinner and Awards Banquet

6:30 pm
Cocktails – Lake Havasu Aquatic Center

7:00 pm
Dinner – Lake Havasu Aquatic Center (Wrist bands required).

8:00 pm
Awards and prize raffles – Lake Havasu Aquatic Center.

Sunday April 25th

Pacific Offshore Powerboat Racing Association Races

10:30 am - 2:00 pm

Racing in the Thompson Bay to Copper Canyon (just south of Thompson Bay and the Nautical Inn).

Watch your favorite West Coast racers compete in this great venue for Offshore Boat Racing. Special guest racers and added surprise racing is in the works, stay tuned!

Then after the professionals finish, there will be a new feature for 2010:

With the course clear and ready, we invite the Poker Run teams to show us what they can do!! This is the right place to open those boats up and have the course to your selves. POPRA rules will be in effect and proper life jackets and helmets are required. Register early to ensure your spot.
 
The Platinum Powerboat Club is thrilled to be joining everyone at Desert Storm this year! It is amazing how strong this event is coming together, so far in advance. I would like to Thank Jim Nichols (Lake Racer, LLC) for his kind hearted approach by supporting something so spectacular! As the 1st, of 7 Puttin' on the Wish events scheduled for 2010 Desert Storm is being organized to set the pace for these life changing events. With over 90 (as of today) Make a Wish Foundation participants rsvp'd and joined by the families of the Havasu for Youth program, Desert Storm will definately raise the bar for charity rides and money for the less fortunate. A special Thanks to Kevin Schulte of Hardline Products for going out of his way to help make a difference! The West Coast powerboaters are supporting "Puttin' on the Wish" in record numbers! If you would like to make a difference by sharing your passion of powerboating with some really cool people, call me! There will be a VIP reception for Captain's, guest (1) and sponsors on Tuesday night! The traditional "Puttin' on the Wish" live auction benefiting Make a Wish Foundation of Arizona will be held on the property of the Nautical Inn on Friday evening. To donate a live auction item, please call me! I need items!!! The "Puttin' on the Wish" goal for 2010 is to share over 1,000 powerboat rides and raise over $100,000.00 for children in need while creating positive awareness for our sport! Michael Cooper's $18,500.00 bicycle will be auctioned off again at it's 4th "Puttin' on the Wish" event! Michael Cooper is a fallen child of the Make a Wish Foundation of Michigan and a 3 year mascot of Smoke on the Water! Michael's bicycle continues to make a difference, 1 event at a time, Thanks to powerboaters from around the world! Michael's bicycle is being transported with TLC by Jason Ventura of Brand X Hi-Performance Marine from South Florida! Thank you Jason! If you haven't registered for Puttin' on the Wish charity rides and or the Desert Storm Poker Run, just do it! I attended Desert Storm 2 years ago and I can't wait to go back! I hope to see everyone there! Read all about the "Puttin' on the Wish" events in your next Powerboat Magazine! Joy 239-470-6156
 
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