Boats rode the waves and played for cash and prizes totaling $16,000 in the annual One Virgin Islands Poker Run on Sunday.
The event saw a fleet of boats set off from Cane Garden Bay in the morning before navigating the territory and picking up oversized playing cards at several stops.
Participating vessels visited Foxy’s Taboo on Jost Van Dyke, the Trellis Bay Market, the Cyril B. Romney Tortola Pier Park, and Ocean’s 7 Yacht Club on Peter Island before returning to Cane Garden Bay in the late afternoon.
“All the cards are judged at Paradise Beach Club and based on the rank that the hands come in,” organiser Jason Martin told the Beacon. “That’s how we give out the prizes. It was a good day.”
As final results were tabulated, a small but sassy fashion show featuring local talent was held on the beach outside Paradise.
On an L-shaped runway that extended into the sea, models paraded outfits created by designers from across the territory.
After the show ended, children mimicked the models and began to pose and twirl along the catwalk as the sun started to lower over Jost Van Dyke in the distance.
Waiting for the winners
Card players had an anxious wait of more than 90 minutes as event organisers calculated who had emerged on top.
Some poker participants stayed aboard their boats as the sun set, booming music that competed with the sound system at Paradise as crowds gathered along the beach.
After the lazy wait, the top prize of $8,000 was awarded to KC Hodge.
The runner-up received $4,000, while third place took home $2,000.
The fourth prize was a 40-inch TV set, with smaller prizes being awarded to other players.
It cost $250 per hand to participate in the event, which has become a fixture of the off-season in the VI.
Music festival
Many attendees had already danced long into the night on the same sands as the beach hosted a two-day music festival on Friday and Saturday.
That event was scaled back from last year’s, with more prominence given to VI artists.
British Caribbean News
