Seattle-Las Vegas Poker Run

[carreradpt]

Anyone hear of this or participate? Bad way to start off the rally.


VANCOUVER, WASH. - Washington State Patrol troopers pulled over Porsches, Ferraris and a Lamborghini on Interstate 5 this weekend to cite drivers in the first leg of the 2005 Seattle-to-Las Vegas Players Run.

More than 50 cars that included $200,000, 200-mph exotics left Seattle on Saturday, with some clocked going 120 mph.

Racers veered between lanes, followed too close and otherwise drove aggressively, forcing troopers to stop all traffic on the freeway with a rolling road block necessary to pull over the vehicles.

Reckless driving citations - with fines up to $1,000 - were issued to 12 drivers, including residents from Bellevue, Salem and Lake Oswego, Ore., Finksburg, Md., Plantation, Fla., and San Antonio.

One driver cited in Lewis County drove a Porsche outfitted with a police scanner and video equipment.

"We are just a bunch of wealthy guys that have money to spend on gadgets. We are enthusiasts," a driver told authorities.

The group does have rules about driving the speed limit, though, and even disqualifies those caught ignoring them, organizers said.

"We state very clearly to all the participants that it's a rally, not a race," said Valerie Lex.

Drivers pay $9,800 to participate.

While on their "Poker Run," they will stop in Ashland, Ore., San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego, collecting enough playing cards along the way for a poker hand to play when they reach Las Vegas on Wednesday. Once there, they're treated to helicopter flights and rides aboard yachts.

This is the third year the five-day race has been held.

[pwd72s]

a cut & paste from today's paper...part one

Remember the blur that went by you on I-5? Well . . .
Tuesday, June 07, 2005
LENO He's enthusiastic about cars, too

I t's not a race, wink-wink, so there are no official results to report from that Cannonball Run -- oops, sorry, Playersrun -- through the Northwest over the weekend.

Except, perhaps, this score from Saturday: Washington State Patrol 6, Ferrari/Lamborghini/Porsche/Acura 0.

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That's six tickets for reckless or negligent driving, including five to participants in the 50-car, invitation-only rally of expensive 200-mph machines from Seattle to Las Vegas.

The Acura? It belongs to a 25-year-old Bellevue, Wash., man who, according to the WSP, "got caught up in the excitement" as the exotic cars roared past his 1991 model on Interstate 5 at speeds of up to 126 mph.

Troopers in Clark County cooled everyone off with a rolling slowdown before the official entrants in the third annual speed carnival reached the Columbia River.

From there, the dash continued via Hood River and Crater Lake to Saturday night's stopover in Ashland, its progress followed closely by the Oregon State Police.

No tickets had to be issued, according to OSP spokesman Lt. Greg Hastings, who said that troopers frequently chatted with the Playersrun drivers at gas stations along the way, making them aware they were not alone.

"One driver boasted that we'd never be able to catch him," Hastings said, "to which I would reply, 'Then we'd get an airplane.' "

Package deal


Who are these apparently repressed Jeff Gordons, Greg Biffles and Danica Patricks?

[pwd72s]

part two

Remember the blur that went by you on I-5? Well . . .
Page 2 of 2
"We are just a bunch of wealthy guys that have money to spend on gadgets; we are enthusiasts," one participant told a trooper in Lewis County, Wash.

Previous Playersruns were from Los Angeles to Miami in 2003 and New York to Los Angeles last year. The 2005 entry fee, as near as can be determined from an Internet blogger, was $12,800 for car, driver and one passenger. The official Web site, playersrun.com, notes that this includes luxury hotel accommodations, secure overnight parking, luggage transport, VIP parties, decals and "all goodies."

(Some of the proceeds go to charity.)

Repeat: It "is not a race"


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Playersrun 2005 participants are promised "the week of your life," with stopovers (and parties) in San Francisco on Sunday night, Los Angeles on Monday night, San Diego tonight and Las Vegas on Wednesday night, when a "Black Tie Finale" is scheduled.

The Web site displays photos of various celebrities, without captions -- but Hugh Hefner and Jay Leno need no introductions.

It also contains this "Caution: Playersrun is not a race, speed competition or contest, drag race or acceleration contest. . . . Participants must not compete with other drivers in any manner. . . . Please note that ANYONE caught racing on the public highway will be excluded from participation in the event. . . . "

(They forgot to tell the guy in the Acura.)

Try this trivia


Goodyear blimps have been involved in the telecasts of nearly every major sports event. When was the first one launched, and how many are there now?

A little Clarett here . . .


Back to Jay Leno, who had this to say the other night about Donald Trump starting an online university: "It's a school where you don't have to attend classes in person -- or, as Ohio State calls it, the football program."

And a little claret there


"Jeff Gordon is coming out with his own wine," Scott Ostler reports in The San Francisco Chronicle, "and that should win the hearts of the hardcore NASCAR fans, many of whom hate Jeff because he seems like a guy who would come out with his own wine."

Trivia answer


The first Goodyear blimp, 'Pilgrim,' was launched 80 years ago last Friday, on June 3, 1925, in Akron, Ohio. There are now four -- three in the United States and one in Brazil.

Trivia postscript


None of the blimps was available to follow the action in Playersrun 2005, but then, as we know, it's not a real race, anyway.

The Light Side is edited by Bob Lochner: 503-412-7013; boblochner@news.oregonian.com

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[tabs]

If I had that kind of money I wouldn't be running a 200 mph car....I be in my Gulfstream.....

[Jared at Pelican Parts]

Reminds me of those Gumball idiots....