Cayman Clubs Poker Run revving engines for Cayman Food Bank

The game of poker has been played everywhere, from saloons in the Old West to casinos in Las Vegas. But, if you really want to up the ante, you can add classic cars and motorcycles to the pot and make it a poker run.

The Cayman Islands Motorcycle Riders Association has teamed up with the Cayman Islands Classics and Hot Rods Club, Jeep345, 345Ford, Cayman Mini Club and CaySky.350GT, to raise money for the Cayman Food Bank by staging a weekend of events, starting on Saturday at 10am and ending on Sunday at 5pm.

The motorcycle riders usually hold their annual Wheels 4 Meals fundraiser in the second weekend of March, but due to COVID-19 restrictions, it had to be cancelled.

“Looking at the fact that we are all stuck here for the foreseeable future, with limited events, we decided to kill two birds with one stone,” said Keith Keller, president of the motorcycle association. “We figured it would be great to launch a multi-club initiative and have the proceeds help restock the Cayman Food Bank, which has had to significantly step up its food output during this pandemic with all the people who are out of work.”

The venue for the weekend (and starting/finishing point for the poker run) is the Cayman Turtle Centre in West Bay.

Saturday – 10am-2pm
Food drive and registration
The public is asked to drop food items off at the turtle centre to help replenish the shelves of the Cayman Food Bank. The cupboard is pretty bare, as the old nursery rhyme goes, and members of the community need the assistance of the food bank now, more than ever.

Coca-Cola will have free fountain drink samples available, and this is also the opportunity for club members to register for the poker run on the Sunday at $50 per person. Note that due to the number of clubs and vehicles involved, the run is for paying members only or people who own a vehicle or bike model in the specific categories (e.g. Mini, Jeep etc.).

Sunday – 9am-1:30pm
Poker run
Late registration is allowed at the turtle centre from 9-9:30am, where there will also be coffee, tea, juice and fountain drinks.

The participants will pick their first card on location between 9:30 and 9:50am. The convoy then heads to Countryside in Savannah via South Sound, going through the parking area at the NAPA store location to pick the second card.

Next is the journey out to the eastern districts, looping around to Frank Sound Road, with the third card stop positioned in the Clifton Hunter High School parking lot.

The fourth stop for cards is in the back corner of the BarCam Esso on the East-West Arterial Road, followed by a return to the turtle centre in West Bay, where participants will draw their fifth and last card.

If they don’t like the hand they have been dealt, they can purchase an additional card for $10 to see if that improves their odds of winning.

Sunday – 1:30-5pm
Auto show
The turtle centre will be running a lunch special in the restaurant (players show their poker sheet to get an entrance wristband for the restaurant area) and is offering discounted rates for families so everyone can join in the fun.

Prepared to be dazzled by the array of fantastic classic cars and shiny motorbikes that will be on display. Got a Jeep, motorcycle or other participating model of vehicle? You can get information on how to become a member of one of the many clubs on the island.

Even if you didn’t take part in the poker run, you can still enter the 50/50 raffle, where 50% of the money prize goes to the winner and the other half goes to the charity.

Stick around to congratulate the winners of the event before everything finishes at 5pm.

“We hope lots of people will come out to support us this weekend,” said Keller. “This is a charity event to benefit the people of the islands in a time of need, so we are also asking the public to bear with possible small traffic delays as we make our way around the island, trying to keep it as one group procession.”

| For more information about the event or the motorcycle association, email [email protected] or call 916-0088.