Winterfest 2024 Poker Run
Hosted by Dail B
Saturday March 16th, 1:30 pm
Everyone is welcome to join this exciting, scenic and tasty 49-mile tour of the Santa Clara River headwaters, Santa Clara volcanic field, Red Cliffs National Reserve and the city overlook of St George. In addition to natural beauty, the Poker Run includes a stop at legendary Veyo Pies for…pie. The ride is open to any type of vehicle. Every participant will receive a steel Serenity Prayer wristband.
Start at the Red Lion Hotel parking lot (Map) for scenic 48-mile ride along Old Hwy 91 following the twisting Santa Clara River climbing up Gunlock to beautiful Gunlock Reservoir, through the quaint village of Gunlock and past ranches along Magotsu Creek to the hairpin turn at Manera Wash immediately into a one-mile 800-foot climb with incredible views over the valley and Veyo Volcano to the right. Then into the village of Veyo for PIE and then along the plateau following UT 18 with more views of the volcano and Snow Canyon state park. Stop 4 is the the St George City Overlook. The last stop is at Red Lion Hotel to lay your cards on the table.
What is a Poker Run?
A poker run is an organized event where participants usually ride motorcycles, but carts, boats, and occasionally even horses, must visit five to seven checkpoints, drawing a single playing card at each one, and then travel to the next location, eventually building their complete poker “hand.” The object is to have the best (or worst) poker hand at the end of the run.
Poker runs usually require a fee to enter; part of the fee goes to funding the event, including the prizes, while the rest goes to the event’s charity recipient or club treasury, in this case Dixie Central Office. Prizes, such as money, plaques, or merchandise donated by commercial sponsors of the event, will be awarded for the best hand. Some runs will award smaller awards for lower hands or even the lowest hand.
Participants initially register at a specific location where they purchase one or more blank tally sheets used to record the cards they’ll draw at each stop. The participants then take their tally sheet(s) to the first card stop where a volunteer has a container filled with a single deck of loose playing cards. Participants stir the cards and draw one card for each tally sheet they purchased. The volunteers observe the card(s) drawn by the participants, annotate the tally sheet(s) with the appropriate card information, and the participants proceed to the next card stop with their tally sheet. Each checkpoint might offer food or entertainment, covered either by the entry fee or at additional cost.
Each participant is responsible to maintain the integrity of his or her hand during the run. The only requirement is that riders arrive at the final checkpoint by the time prizes are awarded, usually near the end of the day, typically at a party with food and refreshments. It might be required that participants collect all of the requisite number of cards, five or seven, or they might be allowed to miss checkpoints and use a hand with fewer cards, though the odds of a winning hand are much lower.
After drawing their fifth card at the final stop, the participants give their tally sheets to other volunteers who will score the sheets and determine the winning hands. Prizes are given to the best hand and the worst hand drawn by participants in the poker run.