Stu Jones is Florida Powerboat Club’s one and only Poker Run King
Read more about Stu Jones’ success with Florida Powerboat Club and the poker runs he has launched over the years via his interview with Offshore Only, below.
Stu Jones is a powerhouse driven to perfection, always tweaking the game plan. From the early days when he launched his first poker run in the summer of ’91 out of a new South Florida boating hub, Sunny Isles Marina in North Miami Beach, to the statewide expansion with the formation of his Florida Powerboat Club (FPC) in 1993, his organization accelerated onto the high performance arena in less than a decade. Jones continues to deal out a winning hand as FPC boasts a thriving series of events spanning a major segment of the boating season calendar that wraps-up with a huge finale at Key West during the SBI Offshore World Championship race week in November.
“Overall we are seeing sustained attendance and in some instances, event growth,” he told me. “Our first two poker runs this year, Marathon and Miami Boat Show, were on par with previous events. We had 60 boats at our [in St. Petersburg]. It’s a show piece destination. The Vinoy Hotel is a big part of the pizazz, plus [it has]the nearby downtown area with restaurants, bars and shops. Every year it continues to grow 10-20 percent.” And always looking forward, he added, “We need to secure additional dockage and room block in order to grow this event to the 100 boat level.”
Several years ago, I asked Stu what the key ingredient is that fuels his special mix of poker run success and he explained it like this:
“It’s all about the packaging. There are certain things that seem to set us apart from others. You know, people don’t just sign up and go for a boat ride. It’s a packaged weekend adventure – all the rooms, activities, marinas – it’s all planned for them. It’s a destination weekend and all the details are arranged.” His proven formula drives FPC and maintains his long-standing status as a cutting-edge poker run event organizer. Over the years, Jones expanded his destination platform with poker runs to various locales throughout the Bahamas. However, for 2016, he takes innovation to the next level with the addition of a pair of unique destinations to the FPC calendar including a totally new take: the upcoming European Porsche Run.
This article is originally posted on Offshoreonly.com.