Comments/Thoughts/Future of Ky Lake Poker Run
 

I have talked to several groups of people and all has had mixed opinions on the run, just thought I would put this out there to see how everyone felt about the run.

Mitch, I just want to say you have made this run a great event. I understand you didnt have anything to do with the organization of this years event but it did appear that when the Crap hit the fan Saturday night you were left holding the bag and Roger was gone, just wanted to say sorry that happened to you.

My complaint is directed towards Roger Schnabel why was no one told that the convention center had any A/C, employes told us that the air had been broke for months. Why were we not told about this on Friday. Usually you have a few prizes and such not one give away this year and did the money even go towards a charity like in the past? And not one mention about Carl...

Also what is the future of this run.

JD, has a good point. I think the run itself was great and the lunch stop was cool. I like the poker run layout w/ the last stop being the party spot.

The activities during the evenings left a lot to be desired. I guess after you layout the DJ that kills the party pretty quick. Then the Sat night A/C situation was brutal.

I was very shocked to find out that no prizes were awarded to the winning poker hand. I guess maybe they should call it a fun run so that there is no expectation for prizes.

Overall, the people at the run were great. Met lots of new friends. I'd say we will be back next year to see if Roger can work the bugs out, however I talked to quite a few people that weren't so optimistic about next year.

Duke

All I've heard about it was negative, and it all revolved around Roger. I don't know the guy, but it sounded pretty pitiful...

*No cards at Fat Daddy's
*Fat Daddy's wasn't even notified that the PR was heading that way
*No A/C at the banquet
*"Here's your plaque, thanks" <--for the top prize
*And mostly general fail's

I wasn't there, so that's just what I've heard, but most of what I did hear was from people there, and none of them were pleased.

I'm sure if Mitch was in control none of this would've happened, but he needs a day off too, right?

Thanks for breaking the ice Jimmy. I have been expecting this thread to start since last week.

First...I think it is a shame that the years of hard work building a reputation for a "first class" poker run by Mitch has now been tarnished by the work (or lack thereof) from Roger Schnabel .

I came so close to doing a stop payment on my check last week and now really regret doing so. I paid $220.00 and got two t-shirts, 1 card, and a hamburger at Fat Daddies. THATS IT! I really think a partial refund of our entries fees is in order. Truth be known, our local county attorney would probably have an interest in this as a fraudulent matter.

There were no cards at Fat Daddies, no cards at the Kenlake stop going back, and when we got to Ky Dam, I was advised not to bother walking up the hill due to the air conditioner situation. I had three girls who had dressed up and knew they would not be into a 120 degree dinner party.

I understand there was no mention of Carl, which is why we started this thing in the first place, and I am really curious as to where the proceeds went. No mention of donation to a charity (soldiers familys, etc) as in the years past.

I will say this....BEWARE Cincinnatti Poker Runners if this guy is still set to handle the details (and money) with your poker run in July. Very disappointing and I hope we can salvage something here for the future.

If you read previous posts from this guy, he states that he has "years of experience" and was the founding group that started the Lake Cumberland Poker Run. I would have expected a little more professionalism from someone with so much "experience".

People who came to Ky Lake for the first time this year....Rest assured, this is not how we handle business here and hope that you will come back.


$220.00 for Tshirts and a hamburger in my book = RIPOFF

When Mitch was the organizer, he never had any bugs and was a very enjoyable run and big party afterwards.

The part about the DJ, was the son of the DJ KO'd Roger....

Very well said JP, I bet Carl's family that was there probably had there feelings hurt, No toast or anything.

It was sad on how some of the things turned out for the event. That being said, we still had a great time. Mitch is a stand up guy and has always been great to us. I'm sure he was a little disappointed on how some of the things turned out but he had no control over that. WE WILL BE BACK! We have made a lot of friends up there and enjoy Kentucky Lake. Always have fun at Moore's and running around with you guys.

We have attended this poker run for the last 4 years and have always enjoyed it. It is always challenging for us to make this run because we also spend Memorial Day Weekend at KY Lake and it's an 8 hour round trip from Chattanooga. I can say without question, this years run will be the last for us unless there is some change. We paid $280 for t-shirts and an additional hand for the crew and for what???? We had a good time at the quarry (as always) but that was it. This years run, IMO, was a total failure and a RIP-OFF. Roger has some explaining to do!

[QUOTE=Jim Diesel;2898295]When Mitch was the organizer, he never had any bugs and was a very enjoyable run and big party afterwards.

When Mitch was the organizer:drink:

the friday party getting shut down 20 mins early should'nt of been no biggie but the Saturday partay was a real BUMMER with no Carl toast, NO A/C was :bsflag:,seen lots of HOTTTT women dressed to the nines for a night of dancing,partying,good times only to see them turn around leave the party,and head back to there rooms for cocktails and A/C ... WTF would of been nice to even take the party back to the Marina ...spent a couple of hours with Mitch after everyone left and he was just as Bummed as the rest of us that things went the way they did ...
Hats off to Mitch :ernaehrung004: my .02 cents

[QUOTE=flenner;2898356]It was sad on how some of the things turned out for the event. That being said, we still had a great time. Mitch is a stand up guy and has always been great to us. I'm sure he was a little disappointed on how some of the things turned out but he had no control over that. WE WILL BE BACK! We have made a lot of friends up there and enjoy Kentucky Lake.

Ditto :ernaehrung004::ernaehrung004::boat:

Im not putting any blame on Mitch, he made this run what it was and unfortunately had other obligations and had to give something up. So he passed the run on to Roger.

I understand he's bummed. He put a lot of dedication and his own money into this thing, but its not his fault the way things turned out.

...pretty much agree with what everyone else has said. paid money, no cards, no mention of Carl, personnaly snobbed by Roger for the second time attending one of "his" events. not disappointed someone knocked his azz out.

on the plus side, I had a GREAT time saturday night at moors with everyone that was there. hope to party with everyone again sometime soon.

Next time give me a 1 day heads up since I am an A/C man for carrier :)... I love the KY poker run and would love to see it continue!! I will volunteer my time to Mitch to help keep this event moving forward..Not sure how much help I will be since I am in Tn, but i will do my best....

P.S. I also use to be a D.J. hint hint

THIS WAS MY FIRST POKER RUN,AND I WAS VERY DISSAPOINTED.I WAS TOLD,BY ROGER THAT THEIR WAS PLENTY OF FOOD FOR EVERYONE, [ON FRIDAY] STARTING AT 6PM.WHEN I GOT THEIR AT 6.30 GUESS WHAT,SORRY,FOODS ALL GONE.THEN ON SATURDAY,AT FAT DADDYS FOR LUNCH STOP,WE PLACED OUR ORDER,GUESS WHAT 45 MINUTES,STILL NO LUNCH,WE LEFT.THEN WE GET TO THE DINNER AFTER THE RUN,GUESS WHAT,NO AIR CONDITIONER,IT HAD TO BE 110 OR HOTTER IN THAT BUILDING.IT WAS SO HOT THAT I WENT AND GOT A FAN FOR THE 2 LADIES THAT WERE WORKING THE TABLE JUST BEFORE THE ENTERANCE.LETS SUM IT UP,4 GUYS IN THE BOAT=220 DOLLARS,AND THEY DIDN,T EVEN GIVE A PRIZE FOR BEST CARD HAND,AND HAVE A BANQUET IN A HALL WITH A BROKEN AIR CONDITIONER.A YOUNG LADY WHO WORKS THERE TOLD ME IT HAB BEEN BROKEN FOR ALMOST 2 MONTHS.NOW I CANT SPEAK FOR ANYBODY ELSE,BUT I WILL NEVER ATTEND ANOTHER POKERRUN OF ROGERS,AND MY GUESS IS THE ATTENDANCE NEXT YEAR WILL REFLECT MY FEELINGS.ON THE UP SIDE,I MEET SOME REALLY GREAT PEOPLE AT THE ROCK QUARRY,AND WE HAD ONE HELLOF A GOOD TIME PARTYING.:bsflag:

:ernaehrung004::ernaehrung004::cool-smiley-027:

Glad this thread was started. I was considering the Cincy run, but this pretty much puts the skids on that.:angry-smiley-038: Myself and two other boats from up here went to the KY Lake Run last year and we had a helluva time. Kinda glad I had other plans that weekend this year.

Has anyone talked to Rodger after all of this? I know he is on OSO some but I've not seen him in here. I didn't make it to this run as I don't have my engines back yet but if had them I would have been there. If it was that bad and Rodger isn't talking then I think this thread needs to be posted in the thread about the Cincy run.

I will send this to his PM and I had put this in the Cincy run thread but decided to take it down.

Kentucky Lake Poker Run
 

Sorry you guys had a disappointing time at the poker run. first thing, about the air conditioning at the convention center. I was charged and extra $500 to reserve the center. I was never told about the air conditioning problem and the first I knew of it was when I entered the building. Ky dam village did refund the money because of the problem. second fat Daddy's did know about the stop, and were prepared. there were 252 lunches served which took some time, but the food was good. I did forget the cards, but everyone got all their cards at the convention center. If you will look at the t-shirts and the drivers packet you will see that it reads the Carl Flood Memorial Kentucky Lake poker run. You might call Judy Flood, Carl's mother and get her thoughts. No prize money, I'm sorry about that but the budget was very tight. the food along cost $7200.00 for lunch and dinner. Your thought are important to me and I do appreciate them, hopefully all will be improved next time.
Roger Schnabel

First the A/C I would like to call B.S. on you not knowing but I have no proof. Also along with the DRIVER PACKET and T-SHIRT they would also give a salute and moment of silence for Carl. Personally I think its rude how you stated it about the t-shirt and drivers packet. And there probably wont be a next time for alot of us locals.

In the end I have one other question what are you doing with the PROFITS, since you had a refund on the convention center?

I just hope that the future of this poker run will continue!! we really look forward to this event every year. the lunch stop is awesome and hope to do it again. So please lets do all we can to keep this alive and keep attracting more boaters...

In that case, rogerws shouldn't be involved. I think he failed this one up too much to ever recover.

:popcorn:

I agree, EVERYBODY needs to do whatever is possible to keep events like these alive. Hopefully, lessons were learned and changes will be made.

Ditto :ernaehrung004::ernaehrung004::boat:

I don't know if I have time this morning to comment on all the points made,

several of the issues mentioned here result from the lack of people not pre-registering. It is tough, almost impossible to plan any event successfully when you can't get an accurate head count. Running out of food Friday night is a direct result of this. As of Thursday there were 18 boats registered, using that number and adding in the local crew that might show up, we guessed that food for 125 people should be enough, after reading this thread, it wasn't, for that I'm very sorry, Tracey or myself didn't get anything either, and you can tell by looking that I don't miss many meals!!

Back in October, Roger and I went to Dover Tn. to meet with the owner of Fat Daddy's, I've been wanting to make that a lunch stop for several years, the lady was very receptive to our ideas and was ready to do what we needed to make it happen. Then she sold Fat Daddys in March to the current owner, she failed to mention to him about the run or to us either. Roger discovered this in early May, and finally, was able to contact the new owner and tell him of our plans, some he agreed to, some he did not but after planning this for 8 months it was too late in the game, to make different lunch plans. I'm sorry for the "wait for food" that everyone had, it wasn't supposed to be that way, Tracey and I didn't get to eat there either.

gotta go, I'll touch on more later. You know, if there was a real WKYPA or something similar that could take on the run.......................

Mitch

Thanks for the explanation Mitch. I didn't have a problem with the food issues so much because I knew you guys had a huge "walk up" crowd for the run. It is nearly impossible to handle that because you just can't win. I've planned big events in the past and I know the dilemma. You buy too much food to be safe and you decrease the proceeds for charity, don't order enough and people get upset.

Thoughts to resolve this issue next year: 1) Charge a premium for people who fail to preregister and/or 2) Make arrangements for preregistered participants to get food first.

The AC at the banquet was the only real issue I had with the run this year. I know a lot of the girls got dressed up and it had to be a disappointment for them (and us since we didn't get to see them). I'm just glad my wife wasn't there, because she would have been much more upset than we were. As for us, we just went and rode go-karts.

The prize issue doesn't bother me either. I'd rather have the plaque than some cash. After all, when you consider the food (if you got some) and shirts, we really didn't pay much to run. I'd rather the cash go to the Flood charity than in my pocket. If I was that worried about money, I wouldn't have burned $500 worth of fuel in two days.

All-in-all we had a great time again and plan to come back. The people at the run are great and the course/lake was perfect. That's why we make the trip.

Keep your head up Mitch, you're a stand up guy!

Mitch
how many boats this year?

I agree with several of the points made. This was my first year at the run and I came in with high expectations based upon stories from previous years. Let me say first that the run itself was GREAT!!! Lunch could have definitely gone better, but remember it was the first time and they have to learn. Being the winner I was a little disappointed that my first and likely only first place at a poker run paid $0. But I know Roger was trying to keep the entry fees down and that was the reason behind no prize money. No Problem. The Party Saturday night was a flop, I don't know how early it was known that there was no AC at the Convention Center but if it was advanced notice then other arrangements should have been made.
As for "Friday Night Fights"... That was rediculous!! I'm not taking anyones side in this but let me say this... The music that was being played when Roger asked them to stop was very in-appropriate for the venue! There were kids there and there were many private slips within earshot of the music and I'm confident that many of them did not appreciate the music being played. We were in a public place and he was playing some very explicit music. In the Rock Quarry or in a private venue like the Convention Center it's one thing, but on the dock is a little different. Just my 2 cents.

maybe they should play Hannah Montana next time. Don't turn on the radio either, they play that stuff on there, and it's also all over the television. Maybe the party should've been somewhere else, but there's not a song in the world these days that are appropriate. From what I understand, that music was REQUESTED by other members of the party.

I forgot one other suggestion. What about having the Saturday party and card turn-in start later... say at 7:30pm so people can enjoy the quarry longer after the run?

well that is 2 things I am an expert in is Air-conditioning and being a D.J. Being a D.J. at a party is very hard work!! I have done both for 15 yrs!! when someone request a song you try to accommodate them unless ground rules are established before hand. as for the previous comment you are rite that song is on the radio everyday!! From what i gather it could have been handled a little more professionally than it was..It is a party and music of that nature has been played before!! A simple please don't play that any more would have been nice, not the way I hear it was handled!! If a hot woman ask me to play something, I usually will :) As for the A/C I wish I would have known earlier I could have fixed it!! so remember that next year. I will be at hog mild's!!!

80 Boats

The staff at the Convention Ctr. have to be finished with Supper and everything cleaned up by 8.00pm, no over time for the employee's, also 12.00 is supposed to be the "Party over" time.

Do you have all the D.J. equipment and lights?

There was no-one more disappointed about the air conditioner situation than me!! It was supposed to be a night when I could finally cut loose and enjoy, dance and drink!! wrong!!!
I think the fault & blame starts with the Dam for not contacting us when it was discovered that the air wasn't working, hell we could have helped pay for the service call. also maybe "someone" should have been in there during the day checking on things. In years past I've usually been there by 11.00am putting up signs and making sure that enough chairs & tables were in place and the band or DJ had what they needed to set up. I'm like you, I've heard the Air has been having problems for years and they just keep piecing it together to get by. I plan on calling there myself today and hopefully getting the truth, we'll see. I'll let you know what I find out.

I'll say again, if there was a local Boat Club or group that could take over????????

you wanna be the founding member and get things rollong? ha ha:lolhit:

I agree it needs to be looked into, but one person cant do it all.

I beleave there is some good responsible people from the area that could do great things and keep the run going.

but can they stay sober? that's the question :lolhit: