Will PRA move the 1000 Islands Poker Run out of Kingston?

[cigdaze]

a few questions

1) Does anybody know of any communities that did not want the poker run . if so what happend.

2) How much money gets spent at these events. The 5-7K sounds like it is not an average amount that would be spent any other type of group. I would like to compile this information to show the impact.

Harold Hemberger
www.kingstonelection2010.com

The dollar figure is quite typical. The average poker run boat or "team" will usually have 4 to 6 persons attending. That's a couple rooms for a couple nights ($1000), 36-72 meals ($1500+), a couple hundred gallons of fuel, plus drinks, entertainment, shopping, etc., etc. - and that doesn't include traveling/trailering to and from, maintenance, and heaven forbid breaking something.

[tommymonza]

Take a year off. The community will welcome you back with open arms and smelly hippies hanging from the welcome signs.

[ChiefApache]

This would be a shame. We did 1000 Island's about 4 years ago. It was an awesome time. The people were great, the city was great.

Do they have no idea the impact of money lost if this PR is cancelled?

[T2x]

a few questions

1) Does anybody know of any communities that did not want the poker run . if so what happend.

2) How much money gets spent at these events. The 5-7K sounds like it is not an average amount that would be spent any other type of group. I would like to compile this information to show the impact.

Harold Hemberger
www.kingstonelection2010.com

Does Kingston have a Chamber of Commerce? The event has been a staple in that town for 20 years. Have'nt the hotel operators, restaurant owners, gas stations, and bar keepers, etc kept records?

[bluellama]

Our little group from Chicago was responsible for about $2k in bar tab alone when we went up there...and I'm not kidding.

We stumbled into the "closed" Johnny Mac's bar a couple of years ago. The doorman unlocked the door to let us in, then we realized that the girls dancing on the bar were the bartenders, and the guys behind the bar pouring jaegar bombs 20 at a time were the Chicago crew.......

T2x, this run has been in the 1000 Islands for 20 years, but it has only been in Kingston for the last 5. If it has to move, it will, the run will still go on, and some other small community will reap the benifits.

[catastrophe]

We stumbled into the "closed" Johnny Mac's bar a couple of years ago. The doorman unlocked the door to let us in, then we realized that the girls dancing on the bar were the bartenders, and the guys behind the bar pouring jaegar bombs 20 at a time were the Chicago crew.......

T2x, this run has been in the 1000 Islands for 20 years, but it has only been in Kingston for the last 5. If it has to move, it will, the run will still go on, and some other small community will reap the benifits.

I agree.
But the losers will be the boaters. I've been there a long time and Kingstons venue is head and shoulders above the rest, for many many reasons.

[nthdegree]

We have done this poker run for 5 years, 3 different boats!!!
We have never been to a poker run that had friendlier town people.
It is still amazing to us how interested in high performance boats these people are and pulling into Brockville, you would think you were a rock star!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xU-UtMjkKZk

[bluellama]

I agree.
But the losers will be the boaters. I've been there a long time and Kingstons venue is head and shoulders above the rest, for many many reasons.

Alec, you are correct. The ability to launch anywhere from Cornwall to Buffalo run lock free to Kingston, tie the boat up, and never worry about a car is huge. Restuarants, hotels, bars, and shopping all within a 5 minute walk of your boat is something unique to Kingston.
I'm pretty sure when Kingston engineered the move from Gananoque to Kingston, there was some year to year money, and I think that ran out after 5 years.
Kingston better be careful, because they may get what they wish for.....

[catastrophe]

Alec, you are correct. The ability to launch anywhere from Cornwall to Buffalo run lock free to Kingston, tie the boat up, and never worry about a car is huge. Restuarants, hotels, bars, and shopping all within a 5 minute walk of your boat is something unique to Kingston.
I'm pretty sure when Kingston engineered the move from Gananoque to Kingston, there was some year to year money, and I think that ran out after 5 years.
Kingston better be careful, because they may get what they wish for.....

We are there 1.5 days of 365 !!!

Fkn retarded pinheads.
They should be shot with a ball of their own sh!t.

[Joe549]

The biggest problem here is that this small self-interest group SPLASH is actually being able to convince our council that the MAJORITY of people in this area do not want the poker run here, which is the exact opposite. The poker run is by far the largest event in Kingston in both attendance and revenue generation for local businesses. This is the only event that these clowns are targetting, meanwhile they completely ignore the fact that there are hundreds of other environmental destroyers right in front of there eyes every day. Examples: The city run tour boats: Any one of these boats dump more pollutants into the water from their bilges and lack of proper maintenance then all the poker run boats do in a season, they generate much larger shoreline damaging wakes in a single pass then the entire poker run fleet all weekend. The Confederation Tour Trolley: essentially a city bus that has been modified, this noisy contraption runs all day every day from about Labour Day weekend through to Thanksgiving. It travels throughour the historic downtown core taking people by many of the historic sites from Fort Henry all the way to Kingston Pen. It passes by my house about 12 times a day and quite often with as few as 5 people on board. One day it went by with only 1 person. The overabundance of charter tour buses: There are literally several dozen of these things coming into and leaving the city each day. These buses are usually full of group tourists from Asia. They travel past many sites and finally stop downtown for about an hour so the passengers can get off and stretch their legs. The buses will sit down near City Hall idling the entire time while the people take a few pictures and maybe buy a hotdog at the street vendors, then they load back up and head on down the highway to Gananoque where they spend their money to go on the real tour boats or at the casino. Kingston City Transit buses: If you have ever had the pleasure of being stuck behind one of these in traffic and gotten so sick from the fumes that you turn green, you will know what I am talking about.

My point is, it starts with a few people that don't like performance boats then it moves to another few people that don't like the Snowbirds or the Buskers Rendevous or Blue Fest and so on and so on. It is all about small groups that wind up dictating how the rest of us live our lives and what we can or cannot do/enjoy until we are a nation of mindless drones waiting to be told what to do next.

[Team Tsunami]

We are there 1.5 days of 365 !!!

Fkn retarded pinheads.
They should be shot with a ball of their own sh!t.

Like my father stated this is a great run that we try to do every year!! The town of Kingston is a perfect venue for a Poker Run!

[Magic Medicine]

We stumbled into the "closed" Johnny Mac's bar a couple of years ago. The doorman unlocked the door to let us in, then we realized that the girls dancing on the bar were the bartenders, and the guys behind the bar pouring jaegar bombs 20 at a time were the Chicago crew.......

T2x, this run has been in the 1000 Islands for 20 years, but it has only been in Kingston for the last 5. If it has to move, it will, the run will still go on, and some other small community will reap the benifits.

That sounds like our crew! Ring da bell

[harhem]

Joe549: exactly as one counciller siad that this is just the first one. As for tht email, is is ok with you to spread the message about me and Pat Foley. Two guys running that support the Poker Run.

Harold Hemberger

[catastrophe]

Joe549: exactly as one counciller siad that this is just the first one. As for tht email, is is ok with you to spread the message about me and Pat Foley. Two guys running that support the Poker Run.

Harold Hemberger

What exactly are you asking??

[B.Z.]

We stumbled into the "closed" Johnny Mac's bar a couple of years ago. The doorman unlocked the door to let us in, then we realized that the girls dancing on the bar were the bartenders, and the guys behind the bar pouring jaegar bombs 20 at a time were the Chicago crew.......

T2x, this run has been in the 1000 Islands for 20 years, but it has only been in Kingston for the last 5. If it has to move, it will, the run will still go on, and some other small community will reap the benifits.

I just wanted to point out that your est. of +20 Bombs at a time might be kind of low...LOL

From BZ (part of the Chicago crew!!!!)

[catastrophe]

Joe549: exactly as one counciller siad that this is just the first one. As for tht email, is is ok with you to spread the message about me and Pat Foley. Two guys running that support the Poker Run.

Harold Hemberger

This whole subject will come down to money like everything else in life.

Arguably the Green Movement has its legitimate points. But after a while someone has to say enough is enough.

Hearing from the boating industry will fall on deaf ears.

City council will get most of its input from 2 sources. The Business Improvement Area members and The Kingston Chamber of Commerce.

They have the most to lose and they are all current taxpayers.

The PR is there 1.5 days a year.
The guy with the 46 Sea Ray and all his friends is moored there 5 months a year.
The route along the river that we traverse has mansions built on it that are built on solid rock. The inoperative or non existent septic systems effect the quality of that stretch of water multi times more than our go fast boats do.

With all this being said I'm curious re your request to have some letter writer mention that you are running for council and want to be known as fighting for the PR.

Seems self serving to me.

[cosmic12]

This whole subject will come down to money like everything else in life.








The route along the river that we traverse has mansions built on it that are built on solid rock. The inoperative or non existent septic systems effect the quality of that stretch of water multi times more than our go fast boats do.

With all this being said I'm curious re your request to have some letter writer mention that you are running for council and want to be known as fighting for the PR.

Seems self serving to me.

Sorry about the edit but the septic point is something that has bothered me for years. I have spent the better part of my boating life in the 1000 Islands area and have always wondered about that and how the hell they get away with it. It is without a dought some of the most beautiful boating anywhere in the country with everything you could ask for and used to be packed with boats and people every weekend untill the tree huggers got started and for the last few years(on the U.S. side) everything has gone down hill fast with cops lurking every where to bust you for something and drive the boaters away but no one has ever made this point about the chit and garbage fires that burn everyday. The boaters are loosing the battle on our side lets hope you guys can stop it before it becomes what A-Bay has become.
A ghost town.

[Joe549]

What exactly are you asking??

It is regarding an email I sent to him. He is just requesting that I inform local voters that I know/speak with for the upcoming election that he and Pat Foley are 2 candidates that are pro-poker run. I imagine that this topic and others that may/will spawn as a result of it will be part election campaigns for those who are running.........

[harhem]

To Catastrophe: Joe put a link on this thread that was my website ( www.kingstonelection2010.com). I emailed Joe to see if he could help simply by mentioned my name to friends of his as being pro poker run. I am a registerd candidate for the next city council election to be help in October . Pat Foley is another candidate that shares my view.

[catastrophe]

To Catastrophe: Joe put a link on this thread that was my website ( www.kingstonelection2010.com). I emailed Joe to see if he could help simply by mentioned my name to friends of his as being pro poker run. I am a registerd candidate for the next city council election to be help in October . Pat Foley is another candidate that shares my view.

Thats what I thought.