Poor Man Poker Run - Lewis Smith Lake - Aug 5th, 2023

by Owen Harris

         The team here at WaveLink strongly believes that we have a responsibility to be involved in making more than just great products, we also want to make a difference in the lives of people who live or visit freshwater lakes.  With that in mind, WaveLink announced that it is the Main Event Sponsor for the 2023 Poor Man Poker Run at Lewis Smith Lake.

What is the Poor Man Poker Run?

               The Poor Man Poker Run is the largest and most exciting event on Smith Lake every year.  The event is run by Alabama Lakewide Charities –facilitated by David Dempsey, Brian Czup & Jason West.  The primary goal of the event is to raise money for other non-profits in the Lewis Smith Lake area while raising funds to purchase and maintain state-of-the-art search & recovery equipment to stay on Smith Lake.  The focal campaign of this year has been the “Deep Water Rover Fund”.  This fund is dedicated to purchasing the rover and training a team to oversee it for Lewis Smith Lake.  You may be asking why a rover is necessary on Smith Lake.  Unfortunately, when tragedies occur on Smith Lake, the depth of the lake (as deep as 265 feet) poses a problem for rescue and or recovery.  This rover will allow for quicker responses to allow for families to gain closure when such an event may occur.  With the addition of our sponsorship check, enough money has now been raised to place the order for the rover.

               The Poker Run itself consists of players riding in their boats making stops at as many participating docks as possible.  At each dock, a player receives a randomly drawn card which they then proceed to “scratch off” to reveal what card they have.  The goal is to put together the best 5 card poker hand you can as you go from stop to stop.  At the “after party”, everyone reveals their cards and the person with the best hand wins.  Last year, there were approximately 500 players on 250 boats visiting 22 sponsor docks.  It was a great time and the event raised over $60K.

When does the Poker Run occur?

  Friday Night – August 4th, 2023 – 5 to 9 PM - Meet n Greet – at Trident Marina

  • Players come pick up your packets to participate / Sponsor Docks come grab your cards
  • Food catered by N & N Meat Company; Event sponsored by Free State Docks (5-year sponsor)
  • Come meet your neighbors and have a great time!

  Saturday – August 5th, 2023 – 10 AM to 4 PM – Poor Man Poker Run

  • This is the main event – Get to as many sponsor docks as you can on the lake
  • Fun with your friends as you get to stop at some docks you’ve always wanted to visit!

  Saturday Night – August 5th, 2023 –  6 PM till…. -  The After Party! – at Trident Marina

  • Cards need to be turned in by 5 PM at Trident Marina – Remember, best hand wins!
  • The event starts at 6 PM, runs till they kick us out
  • Come enjoy live music, giveaways (door prizes), great food and a whole lot of fun!

Why did WaveLink get involved?

               WaveLink got involved because of our commitment to water safety awareness on freshwater lakes.  When asked about why WaveLink got involved with this great event, one of our founders Arnar Thors said,  “My family has been on this lake (Smith Lake) since 1987 and it is very special to us.  And, as our kids grew up and began playing on the dock, we wanted them to be protected, so we started to work on the technology that has become the WaveLink system.  So, getting involved with this event which aligns so perfectly with our mission and purpose was something the whole team felt passionate about.”

So why is WaveLink important to add to your dock?

Electricity from docks and boats can leak into water, creating a dangerous situation for swimmers. Even small amounts of voltage in freshwater can cause muscle paralysis leading to a person drowning, known as Electric Shock Drowning.  Current products in the marketplace are not effective, both in range and accuracy.

WaveLink is a suite of products and cloud-based services for freshwater docks.  The WaveLink Hub monitors your dock and the surrounding water for hazardous conditions.  The WaveLink App provides accurate, real-time information and allows you to connect to your dock to get access to water temperature, clarity, barometric pressure and more.

WaveLink is a smart device that learns the waterscape around your dock.  As WaveLink learns what to expect from your natural environment, it becomes more attuned to dangerous variations from normal.  This enables a dramatic increase in sensitivity to protect your swimming area from dangerous electricity, even if it comes from other docks or sources.

So, what’s our competitive advantage – first, is a patented machine-learning algorithm which eliminates false positives and extends detection range; second, our Hub is self-calibrating, self-testing and always on 24/7/365; and finally, 3 years of proven testing providing us with continual improvement. 

Poor Man Poker Run – August 5th, 2023

               Everyone here at WaveLink is looking forward to a great event again this year at Lewis Smith Lake.  We hope we get to meet lots of our lake neighbors and continue to spread awareness of how our device can help make your time at the lake more relaxing.  Leave your worries behind when you come to the lake knowing your swimming area is secure!

 

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