Boyne Thunder Sold Out—In Record Time
Despite its fame and popularity, it took a month for the Northern Michigan’s Boyne Thunder Poker Run to sell out all 120 slots in 2021. Pandemic restrictions and uncertainty were the obvious culprits that slowed registration for the event, which was cancelled in 2020.
This time around, would-be participants who didn’t jump on registration when it opened three days ago are already out of luck. Set for July 10-11 and celebrating its 19th anniversary, the 2022 Boyne Thunder Poker Run, is sold out.
A favorite among performance-boat enthusiasts from around the country, the Boyne Thunder Poker Run sold out in just two days this week. Photos from the 2021 Boyne Thunder Poker Run by Pete Boden copyright Shoot 2 Thrill Pix.
“It is a record year for the number of sponsors and their support; over $235,000,” said Ingrid Day, Boyne Thunder’s events coordinator. “We had 66 spots remaining for general registration, and after the first 10 hours we only had four left. The last slot sold sometime last night.”
“We are currently convening ‘the weather committee’ to see what we have to do to repeat last year’s waters,” she added, then chuckled. “We’ve added a few new things this year—some family activities and extended DJ time Saturday night to name a couple—and we are ready to have a great poker run.”
Within four hours of registration opening on April 1, 50 of the available 66 participant slots—54 were taken with sponsor registration—were gone. A longtime Boyne Thunder backer, Michael Knoblock of Kimball, Mich.-based American Custom Marine was impressed by how quickly the event sold out.
But he wasn’t surprised.
“The boating industry is up and everyone wants to go boating,” he said. “People are looking for family-oriented boating events. What better place to take the family on a boating vacation than Boyne City for the Boyne Thunder Poker Run?”
As it has for approximately 10 years, American Custom Marine, a Nor-Tech Hi-Performance Boats dealer, is sponsoring the Thursday night welcome party at the Boyne Mountain Resort. Nor-Tech co-sponsored the party with American Custom Marine in 2021 and is returning this year as a backer.
There’s a lot more to the annual Boyne Thunder happening than a poker run.
“We were very impressed with the local involvement and charity aspect—and what beautiful surroundings,” said Henrik Margård, Nor-Tech’s chief operating officer, who with dealer manager Geoff Tomlinson enjoyed last year’s happening on a 390 Sport Console owned by Bill and Lori Lemanske. “It was a very unique event to attend.
“So many of our clients come down to Florida to participate in our poker runs,” he added. “It was nice to go up and join them on theirs.”
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