Elite Poker Runs Cancels Mentor Event

Slated for July 25-26, the Mentor Poker Run on Lake Erie in Ohio has been cancelled. Anthony Scioli of Elite Poker Runs, LLC, the Buffalo, N.Y.-based outfit that produces the event, announced the cancellation in an email to registered participants—and refunded sign-up fees to participants and sponsors—this morning.

Promoted by Elite Poker Runs as its most family friendly event, the 2020 Mentor Poker Run has been scrubbed. Photo by Jeff Helmkamp copyright Jeff Helmkamp Photography/speedonthewater.com.

At issue for Scioli, who runs his family’s restaurant in Buffalo, was the uncertainty of COVID-19 pandemic guidelines and restrictions for group gatherings off the water.

“Right now in Ohio, you can’t have a group of more than 10 people in one place,” he said. “So though I was hoping it would change by July, I  just didn’t know. And now Ohio’s numbers are going in the wrong direction. It was all just getting too uncertain and stressful, so I decided over the weekend that it was time to pull the plug.”

Last month, Scioli also scrubbed the Buffalo-based Ray Nuchereno Memorial Poker Run set for August 8-11 from his schedule and issued refunds to sponsors and participants. Venue availability and cost issues, rather than COVID-19, were at the heart of his decision.

Rescheduled in May from its late June dates to August 21-20, the Erie Poker Run in Pennsylvania currently remains on the Elite Poker Runs roster.

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