Although registration for the Grand Island Poker Run hasn’t been as fast and furious as organizer Tony Scioli hoped, the current boat count for this weekend’s event on Lake Erie in Buffalo, N.Y., stands at 30 with a few more coming in each day. Scioli said that local powerboat owners who “like to wait until the last minute to register” have started signing up and he believes that the final registration number will reach his target goal of 50 boats, particularly if the weekend weather forecast is positive, for the first-time event.

Owned by Vinnie Diorio, this brand-new Outerlimits SV 43 will part of the Grand Island Poker Run fleet.

“I probably waited a little too long to open registration for Grand Island,” said Scioli, whose Elite Poker Runs LLC outfit organizer the Erie Poker Run earlier this year. “But I didn’t want to take anything away from the other events in the area.

“I think a ton of guys are waiting on the sidelines to see what the weather does,” he added. “The forecast for Friday is 80 degrees and sunny. Saturday has a 60-percent chance of rain and thunder shows, but Erie was 90 percent and we ended up with a sunny day. We should get to 50 boats.”

Starting with a car show, “boat stereo wars” and a pool party on Friday, the event is happening at the famed Buffalo Launch Club.