Avery Kerman
akerman@uwyo.edu
The 2016 Poker Run held this past weekend consisted of skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, live music and prizes.
This Poker Run was on Feb. 20 at the Barber Lake campground in Medicine Bow National Forest and Centennial. The day started with participants paying $10, which covered one poker hand, as well as a band cover.
“People love coming to the event because it is a break from the winter monotony,” Robert Kirkwood, main organized of the Poker Run, said.
There was an opportunity to win money if one was dealt one of the two highest hands or the lowest. A cash prize was awarded to the two people who had the best costume. Throughout the day, people traveled along a 6-mile snow trail into Centennial with a bonfire, beer and hotdogs available halfway.
Once the festivities at the campground concluded, attendees went down to Centennial where the live music was provided. A few of the bands featured were Birgit Brooke, Hectic Hobo and Mama Lenny and the Remedies.
Murph Self founded the event 26 years ago, Kirkwood said. He added that in 2010 the people in charge thought it was too much work to hold the event as it was.
The Poker Run was changed to the “Un-Run”, which only took place in Centennial, eliminating the 6-mile “run.”
Kirkwood said he wanted to the Poker Run to be returned to its original roots including the snow trail “run.”
He re-started the Poker Run in 2011 and has been in charge of it since. The attendance of the event over the past years has totaled anywhere from 300 to 1000 people, Kirkwood said.
One of the attendees of the Poker Run was University of Wyoming student Luke Horacek.
“It seemed like a good thing to do on a Saturday afternoon,” Horacek said.
There were a lot of festivities occurring at the event, and one of the popular parts was the bonfire.
“My favorite part was definitely the bonfire that had multiple kegs of beer,” Horacek said.
