TICKFAW — South Louisiana will once again turn into a boater’s paradise for this weekend’s annual Tickfaw 200 Poker Run.
The event was started in 1996 by “Crazy Charlie” Albert as a way to support local businesses and establish a poker run for speedboaters. Albert passed away in 2009, but event organizers are dedicating this year’s Run to Albert’s memory, according to a Facebook post from the Tickfaw 200’s page.
The three-day event is now owned by Glenn Alack, who says the purpose of the run is still the same today as it was when it started nearly 30 years ago.
“It boosts the economy. Every hotel around here – from Livingston to Tangipahoa to Ascension – are all full. It boosts the local businesses and, of course, the parish is getting tax dollars, and then all the money we raise goes to charities,” Alack said.
This year’s event is raising funds for several local charities and other groups, including
Sheriff Jason Ard’s Christmas Crusade, TARC, Springfield Police Department, Springfield Fire and Rescue, Ducks Unlimited, and Wildlife and Fisheries.
“The Christmas Crusade is a big one. It’s for kids whose parents can’t afford to buy Christmas gifts, so we love doing stuff like that,” Alack said. “And we give some money to local law enforcement because they’re out here working daylight to dark these four days that we’re out here.”
Ard agreed that the money raised from the Run does more than just benefit his department and other nonprofits in the area, saying it was one of the year’s most important events for many local business owners.
“This Tickfaw 200 was started back in ’96 and has always been a supporter of anything that goes on in the community,” Ard said, noting that contributions from the Run have paid for equipment for the Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office Marine Division in the past. “It’s great for Livingston Parish to have this kind of event. It’s benefits not only our nonprofits, but it also benefits our restaurants and gas station owners — they’ll probably spend an average of $10,000 a vessel for fuel over the weekend. That’s a lot of fuel rolling through our Parish.”
General manager for Blind River Bar, Anthony Gregoire, says the bar will be action-packed all weekend with DJs and other entertainment. This will be the second Tickfaw 200 for the bar after it was heavily damaged by a fire in 2017 and reopened last year.
“It’s extremely important for us. It’s kind of the kickoff event for summer,” Gregoire said. “The owners have built this gorgeous place in the middle of the swamp. People from all over the United States show up. You would think a bar in the middle of the swamp would be some kind of little shack or something but it’s like something you’d see in Miami or something of that nature.”
Event organizers say over 200 boats have already registered for the poker run, but they expect as many as 400 boats on the water over the weekend. Alack said that while he hopes everyone has a good time, he said safety is the event’s number one priority.
“I want people to come out and have a great time, but be safe. Safety is the main that that we’re looking for. You’re gonna have 400 boats on the water and they’re all humongous and fast,” Alack said. “We want everyone to have a good time, but keep safety in mind.”
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