PDB Days Poker Run September 9

Bring your best poker face, because on September 9 we’re throwing our first Pontoon & Deck Boat magazine Poker Run on the Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri! What’s at stake? Not stickers for your fridge, not a couple of dollars, but something even better—a brand-new pontoon Lowe pontoon package including a Mercury four-stroke engine and a trailer valued at over $26K. Plus other great prizes from Airhead, Sportsstuff, Kwik Tek, World Industries, etc. totaling over $3K!

So if you’re at all poker-savvy—or even if you just want to wing it and fly on luck—come join us on the docks at Captain Ron’s Buccaneer Bay Resort in Sunrise Beach, Mo., on that Saturday morning for a day you won’t soon forget. Because if you’re anywhere in the area, it’ll be more than worth the drive—and not only because it’s on the beautiful boating hotspot that is the Lake of the Ozarks.

“We chose the Lake of the Ozarks for many reasons,” shares Publisher Greg Larsen. “It's a general hub between Kansas City and St. Louis offering easy travel for many boaters. The lake is also lined with excellent restaurants, marinas, and beautiful lakefront homes. Mid-September is a beautiful time of year to visit; the weather is perfect and the lake is much quieter and smoother than the summer months.”

Motor over in your own boat or simply rent one from one of the nearby marinas to check out the fun. We’ll take you either way. Any boat is invited (but I’ll bet you can guess which types of crafts our favorites are).

To play it is $100 to register your boat and that includes one poker hand and a T-shirt. Additional poker hands can be purchased by the boat owner or anyone else on the boat for $25 a hand or five hands for $100.

From Captain Ron’s at Mile Marker 34 you’ll head out and this is not a race, but rather an enjoyable cruise to five nearby restaurants with some offering food and drink specials for participants.

Poker run stops include Bear Bottom Resort (MM 38), Bulldog's Beach House (MM 32), Nautifish Rum Bar (MM 4 off of MM 31), Fish & Company (MM 31) and Paradise Restaurant (MM 24). You don’t need to go in any particular order, but you do need to visit them all.

Enjoy the lake at your own pace and then head back to Captain Ron’s to see how you did. Here you’ll draw five cards for each hand you purchased and the best poker hands will go home with great prizes, including the pontoon package. As an added bonus, if you draw a marked playing card you not only get a PDB poker chip, but that card now becomes a wild for that particular hand and that should really improve your chances!

And remember, not only will the first-place winner go home with a brand new Lowe pontoon and a gleeful grin on his or her face—there are some pretty awesome rewards for runners-up that no one would complain about, either including a standup paddle board, wakeboards and towables.  

“This is an opportunity to engage with other pontooners as well as check out other brands. Best of all there are some great prizes to win,” adds Larsen.

As fun as this all sounds, it of course doesn’t stop at the prize-winning and big boat giveaway finale.