Camaraderie abounds at snowmobile poker ride

There may have been 100 fewer participants in the $1,000 Super Poker Ride in Haugan due to the snow conditions, but the snowmobilers couldn’t tell because they were having way too much fun. 

The Montana Nightriders Snowmobile Club pulls out all the stops and plugs when it comes to this monster extravaganza.

Brad Moorehead has a bar in Coleville, Wash., and has participated in this event many times. 

“Looks like everybody had a good time. Lots of kids out there having fun,” he said after completing the course. As far as the snow conditions are concerned, Moorehead said it was a little warm. “It was kind of sloppy at first, but you know what? The trail held up good and the higher we rode in elevation, the more snow. Truly, a great day and it’s not over. This is so darn good for this economy as the bar is going to be packed and all of the places to stay are full,” as he pointed across the parking lot to the $50,000 Motel.  

He shared a story that many years ago snow was scarce in Haugan, so Rex Lincoln, who owned the $50,000 Bar, Restaurant and Motel at the time, hired loaders and dump trucks to bring snow down to the staging area the day of the run.

Sheila Glasgow lives in Spokane but has had a cabin in Haugan for 20 years. Jodi Bentley came over from Osborn, Idaho so that the two gals could be twins as the theme of this year’s poker run was Vikings and Dragons. They ran one of the five stops the riders made where their competition pass was stamped and they received a card from a deck of 52. 

The riders made five stops on the 35-mile course and received a total of five playing cards with the best poker hand winning a bunch of dough. Contestants could purchase more poker hands to better their odds of winning the pot, and most did. 

The event can be two days having Friday night be the start of the festivities with a huge bonfire. Glasgow was a tiny bit disappointed from that portion of the weekend. 

“We burned the virgin and it didn’t work,” she said. “It rained today when it was supposed to snow with the Snow Virgin sacrifice,” explained Bently as apparently a "body form" is tossed into the flames to officially start the festivities. Hmmmm?

Jeffrey Brockman drove 1,400 miles to be included. 

“I’m from Atlantic, Iowa and this is my third straight year of coming to this,” he grinned. To be fair, he snowmobiled for a few days in Cooke City and Columbia Falls but his destination was Haugan, as he said this is so much fun and he plans to never miss one. 

Brockman is a long-distance truck driver with a route every week from Omaha to Portland and Seattle and back. He met another trucker who told him about this shindig, and he is now a lifer. Being a veteran participant, he said this year was wonderful. 

“Just because we didn’t have a lot of snow, and fewer people riding, the trails were great. I enjoyed it. I like the hospitality and the great friends I’ve made through the years of doing this.”

“The camaraderie. It’s always been the people and the fun we have,” is the best part of this annual event for Beverly Gagner who was selling raffle tickets as a volunteer for the Nightriders.

The manager of the $50,000 bar, Brogan Keenen, was geared up with her staff for the final riders to report in by 5 p.m., Saturday. 

“We’ve got a very wild and rowdy crew, like we always do and we embrace it very much. There are so many prizes that have been donated and we can’t thank the people and businesses enough for their generosity. The raffle prizes are going to be fun, also,” she smiles. 

Keenen explained that the event is a huge fundraiser for the Montana Nightriders Snowmobile Club and the bar just hosts the event. 

“Everyone once in a while we get some crazies or some people that have had a little too much (to drink) so we have to cut them off. But the good news is that they are most likely staying over in our motel so they don’t have to walk too far.” 

The motel has 40 rooms that were full and there were reports that St. Regis occupancy was near the brim, also.

Another longtime volunteer for the Nightriders was Amy Teeters. 

“I married into the family so I’ve been doing the poker run for four years? five? Wait, six years? Good Golly!” 

2024 has been different for Teeters. “

Well, this year I’ve been working in the restaurant and the other five I’ve been at a draw-post along the route. I can say that this year I’ve been able to sit and enjoy the people more.”

The dude running the hotdog stand for the snowmobilers in Taft was Curtis Cochran, another volunteer. His knowledge of the event, and the Nightriders, goes back to the inception. 

“This is the 35th poker ride, but over 50 years ago the Nightriders was started by my dad. We had the Polaris shop in St. Regis and most guys were loggers and they worked every day so the only time they had to ride their snowmobiles was at night, so they named themselves the Nightriders. That was the start of the Montana Nightriders Snowmobile Club.” 

Cochran also demystified the bonfire on Friday night. 

“The first time we had the burning of the Snowmobile Goddess, about 20 years ago, was a real memory maker,” he said. “It’s a mannequin and her name is Elly Elibomwons, which is ‘snowmobile’ spelled backwards and that night became a ritual to sacrifice her on the bonfire so we’d have fresh snow the next day,” he chortled.

The classic $1,000 Super Poker Ride is held on the 4th Saturday of January every year.

    Snow was scare in the parking lot of the $50,000 Bar and Motel for the poker ride, but the course held up great. (Monte Turner/Mineral Independent)
  

    Shela Glasgow, left, and Jodi Bentley played their part of the $1,000 Super Poker Ride in Haugan over the weekend. The theme was Vikings and Dragons with a little over 200 snowmobilers taking part in the 35-mile course. (Monte Turner/Mineral Independent)
  

    Raffle tickets for gazillions of prizes were sold by a table of volunteers with the Montana Nightriders Snowmobile Club. This event is the biggest fundraiser they hold each year with the proceeds helping to groom the trails in the west end of Mineral County. (Monte Turner/Mineral Independent)