Smokin’ the Sound Poker Run Proves It’s On the Rise

Organizer Woody Bailey and the friendly folks in and around Biloxi, Miss., rolled out the red carpet for the several hundred people who came into town this weekend for the Smokin’ the Sound Poker Run. Not only did the event five away $25,000 to the team’s with the top three poker hands, it managed to raise even more than that for the children’s trusts of the late Carey Downs and Jeremie Floyd (read the story) although the specific amount was not available the day after the poker run.

The MTI presence at the 2015 Smokin’ the Sound Poker Run in Mississippi was impressive. Photos courtesy Marsha Floyd

“The whole event came together well and turned out super cool,” said Bailey, adding that the Southern hospitality of the Mississippi community was quite apparent. “We had 48 boats signed up and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. We had a fun get together on Friday evening during the captains’ meeting and poker run party at the new Maritime and Seafood Museum. Then everyone headed out Saturday for the eight stops and had a great time.

“We started this poker run in 2005, but had to take a few years off after Hurricane Katrina,” he added. “We’re back now and we plan on pushing even harder to improve the event. We believe we have a great venue for a poker run and I think most of the attendees will agree.”

Randy Scism, the owner and founder of MTI in Wentzville, Mo.,, who attended the run with his longtime friend and customer Bob Bull, was impressed with the event.

“We had an amazing time,” Scism said. “The weather was perfect, you couldn’t ask for a better day. The accommodations were great—all of the casinos there are pretty upscale. Plus many of the stops have been rebuilt from the hurricane so everywhere we went was so nice. The food was good, too. We will definitely come back. I can see this run being a good one for years to come.”

Check out the slideshow to see the children of the late Jeremie Floyd and Carey Downs enjoying themselves at the poker run.

Scism and many of the MTI owners, including Bull, Derek Wachob, Troy Paul, Richie Prince and more, showed off their generosity when it came to raising money for Downs and Floyd. In addition, Paul and Wachob opened up their stunning all-black 52-foot MTIs to the kids of Downs and Floyd.

According to Marsha Floyd, Jeremie’s wife and Down’s co-worker at Pier 57 Motorsports in Counce, Tenn., her two sons, Seth, 16, and Cameron, 14, rode in Paul’s Pressure Makes Diamonds canopied MTI for the poker run and Hudson, Down’s 10-year-old son, rode in Wachob’s matching Black Diamond MTI.

“The kids had such a good time, I definitely have to thank Derek and Nora Wachob as well as Troy Paul for hosting my family and Carey’s family for this event,” said Marsha, who is helping plan a memorial run for her two best friends on Tennessee’s Pickwick Lake in August (visit the site). “Carey’s mom and Jeremie’s parents had never been to a poker run—neither had the kids—so it was such a great experience for them. They were in awe the whole time and amazed at the hardware and the effort put forth by everyone involved.

“For example, Mark Fischer, the owner of OffLeaseOnly, went out of his way to take care of us—in fact, he sponsored the captain’s meeting and provided all of the food at the lunch stop,” she added. “I don’t know how much money was raised for the kids’ trusts, but whatever it is we’re so appreciative. The experience itself was priceless. Jeremie and Carey both would be beside themselves that people would do so much for their families. The whole event was so touching.”

Smokin’ the Sound Poker Run Proves It’s On the Rise

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