Good news!
Tigh-Na-Mara Seaside Spa Resort
In Parksville has signed up as a checkpoint. This is excellent as it gives us yet another beautiful spot to visit out our route to Mt Washington. The resort is also stepping up donate one night’s accommodation with 2 Mineral Pool passes for the Grotto Spa, valued at $300. That will be part of the raffle with proceeds going directly to the Kids.

The Honda Way in Abbotsford is kind of keeping quiet on what they are providing this year in terms of raffle items but they have said that they will be providing some excellent items as well Sokha himself may come over and participate in the Poker Run bringing along one of the Club Racers that they have in inventory.

Money is coming in and I have sent out PM's to everyone that expressed interest in the event as it is time to start firming up the numbers. There is little over 6 weeks left so it is time to start purchasing your tickets. Please contact me about payment as soon as you can. I have committed to 60 dinners from Mt Washington so I am anxious to see how close we are to that currently.

 

July 11th Update:

Money and confirmations are still coming in. I sent out a PM or Email to all the people that I have on my pre-registration list as it is time to firm up the numbers. Why are the numbers dropping so fast? Well on the list initially I wanted to get anyone that was 'thinking' of attending the event so I had a rough idea as to if we wanted to do this again this year. The response was once again tremendous and as such I decided to move forward with the event. It is time to start firming up those numbers and removing the people that originally signed up but now cannot make it for whatever reason.

To date I am very pleased with not only the pre-registration list but the actual people that have paid and/or confirmed their attendance with me. THANKS EVERYONE that responded to me. If you have not responded to my PM or Email or have not received one at all, please let me know.

So far we have the following numbers;
CARS Confirmed Attendance ==> 26
CARS Paid ==> 9

PEOPLE Confirmed Attendance ==> 42
PEOPLE Paid ==> 15

I would love to see more cars sign up though as we don't have representation from a couple of car forums or car models. If you live on the island this is an excellent chance to see other cars and have a great time with a fantastic cruise and helping out with a great cause. For those of you on the mainland I understand gas prices are high (10 cents cheaper in some cases on the island though), and the Ferry costs and hotel make this an expensive weekend, but if you can afford to come along we need you to help make this a success and send as many kids to camp this year as possible. Last year we were able to send 2 kids and purchase all their associated supplies. I hope to double that this year. So if you can make it please make an attempt to..., It is a truly fantastic event and Mt Washington puts on a great banquet dinner.




ONLY FIVE WEEKS AWAY!

Also remember that you can't just show up, you have to register so I can arrange for food and for the events that some of our checkpoints are putting on including free swag !!! Get on the list.

 

July 15th Update

Money and confirmations continue to come in. Please remember you must pre-register for this event as I have to order food and some of the sponsored checkpoints are putting on events for us and require estimates of how many participants.

Those of you that have not confirmed your attendance with me, please do soon. Even if you can't make it, I understand but please just let me know. Thanks to all those that have responded (most of you have).

Like last year, as we get down to the date people drop out as other things have come up or whatever, and that is fine. I am still above my commitment of 60 people so that is great. To help out though please spread the word about this event. Talk some friends into coming out, let me know if there are places I should post my event that I may have missed.

I have confirmed the menu with the Mt Washington Caterers:

Dinner Buffet

Artisan Buns & Whipped Butter

Garden Greens & Dressings
Spicy Thai Noodle Salad
Asian Sesame Ginger Slaw

Chef Attended Carved Roast Beef Au Jus
Chicken Cordon Bleu
Rosemary Roasted Potatoes
Wild Rice Pilaf
Steamed Seasonal Vegetables

Assorted Desserts

Also for those of you that have not booked any accommodations yet, here are some instructions from Mt Washington staff:

Cathy has added a special discount promo code for the accommodation component of your visit this year, for guests staying at Deer or Bear Lodge via Slopeside Accommodations.

Participants may book online by visiting our website (www.mountwashington.ca) clicking on "Book Online" and then entering the word "Poker" in the promo/discount area.

 

July 22nd Update:

I have heard from most of you but there are still a few that I have been unable to reach. Please fire me and email or a PM confirming your spot. Also it is time to purchase your tickets, please contact me to arrange payment.

I have now confirmed all Checkpoints:

1) Victoria Honda
2) Discovery Honda (Duncan BC)
3) Nanaimo Honda
4) Tigh-Na-Mara resort and spa (Parksville BC)
5) Arrowsmith Golf and Country Club (Qualicum Beach, BC)
6) Island Honda (Comox)
7) Mt Washington Resort.

I believe that there will be a BBQ and sales event at the Discovery Honda location as well as the Island Honda location, so I hope your all going to be hungry. BBQ I think is free for participants and any money raised will be donated to the charity (Easter Seals Camp Shawnigan).

The Honda Way in Abbotsford has finally reviled what they will be donating to our event.
"What we are able to provide are the following: 5 Stay and Play Hotel Packages for 1 week. Resorts available in Mexico, Central America, South America, Canada, USA and Caribbean. This is hotel only. Customer is responsible for the taxes. "

While this is hotel only it is still an incredible deal. The only thing that the Honda Way asks is everyone that is attending the Poker Run, go to the Honda Way's Facebook page and "like" the page located here:

http://www.facebook....Way/37591138258

To be eligible to win a prize you will be required to "like" the Honda Way page.

Please pick up your tickets as soon as possible as it is time to commit to the event so I can get a final counts. Payments must be in by August 10th.

 

Poker Hands
these are the available poker hands and rankings. If you don't know anything about Poker don't worry, our judges will select your highest hand out of the cards you receive should you require assistance.

 

I have completed the Overview maps which are maps from each checkpoint to each checkpoint. I will also supply more detailed maps of the route between each checkpoint. You will receive a map at the detail level where you can see street names so each of these OVERVIEW maps will come with more detailed maps once I have those completed. This will eliminate the need for a GPS but a GPS is still useful. Those of you that are traveling with the scenic crowd this is the route we will take and you will always be with someone that knows the way.

• Starting Point to Checkpoint #1 - Victoria Honda (Victoria)
• Checkpoint #1 to Checkpoint #2 - Discovery Honda (Duncan)
• Checkpoint #2 to Checkpoint #3 - Nanaimo Honda (Nanaimo)
• Checkpoint #3 to Checkpoint #4 - Tigh-Na-Mara resort and spa (Parksville)
• Checkpoint #4 to Checkpoint #5 - Arrowsmith Golf and Country Club (Qualicum Beach)
• Checkpoint #5 to Checkpoint #6 - Island Honda (Courtenay)
• Checkpoint #6 to Checkpoint #7 and Ending Point - Mt Washington resort

Clicking on the first link will give you a map and directions..., each map after that will show you directions but if you look at the top of the page there is a checkbox to show you the route.


Looks like the entire route is about 6 hours based on the time from Google Maps. We will start around 10:00 with the final crowd leaving around 11:00.

 

Here is a link to our new Vancouver Island Poker Run Blog being hosted by a new sponsor importmeets.com

 

Just two weeks left to register for this event. If your on the island you can't miss this. If you're not on the island, what a great trip this would make. We have sooo many good prizes this year as well as a drop in band that is playing for free! Sponsorship has been amazing. If you can make it out please try to. Contact me with any questions..., If you have registered, time to purchase your tickets!

 

August 5th Update

Well only 15 days till the Poker Run. Some of you will probably be happy to have it all over with and are tired of hearing about it. Believe me as the sole organizer of this event, I can't wait for it to be over either. We do have a great list of sponsors and a wonderful list of prizes and raffle items that have been donated to the cause. If you registered for the event it is time to purchase your tickets. If you want to register for the event, there is only ONE week left. Contact me with any questions, and if you can make the event, please make an effort to do so. It truly is a great time, nice cruise with wonderful scenery. A excellent dinner and awards evening, and lots of prizes/items for everyone.

One of the questions I get asked the most is "I don't know how to play poker"..., some people think that a poker run is actually a poker game with the proceeds going to charity. Not the case at all. A poker run is a rally where speed is not the focus at all. You have a starting point and a route. Along that route you will have 7 checkpoints that are all mapped out for you. You follow the maps (or a group of people like we will have), and you simply cruise to each checkpoint on the list. At each checkpoint you will receive a playing card. The last checkpoint will be Mt Washington where you will receive your 7th card. You hand in the 7 cards to the judges at the end of the run and the prize money is awarded to the highest hands based on the payout which is based on the number of participants. You don't need to know anything about poker or poker hands. We will figure it out for you, or you can do it yourself.

We have a wonderful dinner at Mt Washington and a raffle where you can win such prizes as Hotel anywhere in the America's for a week, free nigh at Tigh-Na-Mara resort including the groto spa, golf package for 4 including carts, F1 training in Calgary, many other items...,

If at all you can make this event please do, contact me for any further information.

 

<font size="3">One day left to register or to confirm yourregistration for this event.If you have confirmed already and haven'tpurchased your participation envelope, please do so.I have an extensionuntil Monday to have the numbers up to the caterers.</font>