Florida Powerboat Club Key West Poker Run At 230 Boats, Cigarette Title Sponsor

In 2019, an exhilarating mix of 265 high-performance center consoles, catamarans and V-bottom sportboats tackled the Florida Powerboat Club’s annual Key West Poker Run. The boat count dropped to a still-solid 180 entries during the following pandemic-challenged year, which also saw Race World Offshore cancel its concurrent Key West Offshore World Championships.

But with registration still open and currently standing at 230 boats and a little more than a month to go before the November 10-15 event, the total likely will exceed that of 2019.

Cigarette Racing Team has signed on as the title sponsor for next month’s 29th annual Florida Powerboat Club Key West Poker Run. Photos from Key West 2019 by Pete Boden copyright Shoot 2 Thrill Pix.

“I think we are about 20 boats ahead of where we were in 2019,” said Stu Jones, the president of the Pompano Beach-based club, who is pumped up coming off his outfit’s successful Emerald Coast Powerboat Week Poker Run. “It’s not a record yet but it’s looking that way at the rate we are going.”

For the first time in the 29-year history of the Florida Powerboat Club Key West Poker Run, Cigarette Racing Team has stepped up to be the event’s title sponsor, Jones said.

“Our loyal core manufacturing sponsors also include Blackwater/Deep Impact, Midnight Express, MTI, Mystic Powerboats, Nor-Tech (celebrating its 30th anniversary this year) and Performance Boat Center,” he said. “All are coming to Key West with a strong presence.”

One of the Florida Powerboat Club’s longest-standing backers, Nor-Tech will have plenty of representation in Key West next month

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