The poker run is force at the Lake of the Ozarks Shootout.
The Poker Runs America crew brought out the iconic Fountain 47’ Lightning to join the fun at the Poly Lift Boat Lifts Lake of the Ozarks Shootout Poker Run.
The bright yellow Fountain was among the 130-plus boats in the poker run, which is held on Friday before the Lake of the Ozarks Shootout over the weekend. Though the Lake of the Ozarks Shootout gets most of the national attention, the poker run has become a significant fundraiser for the overall event.
Originally founded by Mark and Mike Maasen, the poker run started informally when the event was at Shooters 21 in the early 2000s. Poly Lift Boat Lifts, which Mark is co-owner and vice president, signed on as the original sponsor and organizer.
The poker run has become a fixture that brings Shootout participants and fans together on the water and at restaurants.
“What’s really cool about this poker run is we’ve had people from India here, people from Norway and from all over the world,” said Tiffany Maasen, who co-organizes the poker run with her husband, Mark. “It’s not just Lake of the Ozarks or Missouri. They come from all over the United States—California, Florida, New York, Pennsylvania. That is the ultimate compliment for a poker run.”
For the 2024 poker run, organizers started the poker run with breakfast at the Cave Bar & Grill at the 3 Mile Marker in Camdenton, Mo. Opened in 2022, the waterfront bar features a large swimming pool that extends into a natural cave. The poker run had started previously at nearby Captain Ron’s Bar, but the new location offered more dock space and spreads events beyond the former host site.
“When we left Captain Ron’s, one flight went left and one went right,” Mark Maasen said. “The difference now is we couldn’t go left or right until we hit the four corners. That was on purpose to try to disperse everybody. We don’t want 90 boats to show up at one restaurant at the same time, because they can’t take care of it.”
With the Shootout formerly taking place on the southwestern side of the lake (it’s changing locations in 2025), organizers encouraged poker runners to visit bars and restaurants around the lake. If poker runners visited most of the card stops, they logged about 100 miles on the day. Most of the boats participating in the poker run are center consoles, far different from when the Poly Lift Poker Run was getting started.
“This is not a westside event, an Osage Beach event or an eastside event,” Mark Maasen said. “This is a lake-wide event. We have charities on both sides of the lake. Events like this bring the whole lake area together.”
Among the nine stops on the lake were Big Dick’s, Nautifish, Red Fox, Paradise and Franky & Louises. Shady Gators was the end location with a dinner celebration. The Poker Runs America team rafted off at Big Dick’s, had lunch at the LandShark Bar and Grill at Margaritaville and enjoyed a few cocktails at Franky & Louies.
Lake of the Ozarks.
Shootout weekend is one of the busiest for boat traffic, and the offshore V-bottom was right at home on the washboard lake.
The Lake of the Ozarks Shootout raised a record-breaking $730,000 in 2024. The money was distributed to 43 nonprofits, police and fire departments around the lake.
The date for the 2025 Poly Lift Poker Run is Friday, August 26, with this year’s start at Performance Boat Center in Osage Beach.
“Anytime you have all the boats we had in the poker run where everybody was safe and we raised money for charity,” Tiffany Maasen said. “What else could you ask for?”
