Later this month, the Anderson Powersports Desert Storm Poker Run presented by KICKER Marine Audio will celebrate its 28th anniversary. The Lake Havasu City, Ariz.-based event attracted upward of 200 boats in its biggest years and still routinely passes the century mark for registration. Desert Storm is still the grandfather of West Coast go-fast boating events. It continues to attract new and returning participants from across the country and around the world.
But here’s the thing: Thanks to the limited waterfront destinations of Lake Havasu, the poker run itself is merely adequate. It begins Saturday morning at a leisurely pace—the event’s shotgun-start is long gone for good reason—and ends quietly that afternoon.
As it is with so many organized poker runs these, the actual run itself is just one element of the event—and far from the most compelling one. For Desert Storm, the mile-long, Thursday night street party on McCulloch Boulevard is the main event. And it is still the one by which all other outdoor celebrations and exhibits are measured in the go-fast boating event world.
Exhibitors such as DCB Performance Marine have never missed it. Relative newcomers such as American Marine Performance—participating with its new 35-foot catamaran—and Deep Impact Custom Boats are thrilled to be part of it.
Without question, the Desert Storm Street Party is an essential happening for the likes of Missouri-based DWR/Doug Wright Powerboats and Waves And Wheels owner Justin Wagner.
“We’ve been a Desert Storm sponsor as Doug Wright Powerboats for the past three years, but not to the level we are going to this year,” he said. “On and off the water, we’ve always had a blast.”
A top-speed event that happens on Saturday to close out the Desert Storm Poker Run weekend, the Shugrue’s Shootout has produced many memorable and event hair-raising performances during the years. And it’s on again this time around.
But for a mile good reasons, the Desert Storm Poker Run Street Party remains the main attraction of the West Coast’s biggest event.