Mike Filzen Poker Run, rain or shine, snow or no

The twelfth annual Mike Filzen Memorial Poker Run took place during the afternoon of Saturday, Feb. 7 starting at the Waseca American Legion Hall. Signup started at 11:30 a.m. with a noon departure; the Legion also hosted the 7 p.m. return. Winners for the event were Brooke in first place for $100, she did not give her last name. Barb Ahlman in second for $75 and Jake in third place for $50. The goal of a $500 Scholarship was reached for one lucky student in Waseca County and participants raised $310 for cancer research.

 

In a “poker run,” the object is one solid hand of poker, a single game that lasts all day. The destination is five bars in five different towns, each saloon equipped with a board that has a full deck of cards spread out on it like a giant dart board. At each stop every player gets to throw a single dart at the board with the start being the board in the legion. Wherever the dart lands is the card they are dealt with five cards total. There is one exception, “If you hit a card you already have, throw again.”

 

Seth Langager, one of the members of the snowmobile club said, “We’re doing this run for Mike and to aid in the scholarship at the school. Mike died of pancreatic cancer; all proceeds from today’s run go towards cancer research.” The treasurer of the club was also there, Jake Sopkowiak, “I got here at 11:20 a.m., we’ll know how much we raised by tonight. This is a pretty good year, there might actually be more people here this year than last year. We used to have way more people when this was a snowmobile event, but with the weather the past few years we’re sort of getting shortchanged on the powder lately.

But doing this with snowmobiles was our original intent.”

 

Chad Bjerke was nearby, helping with the signup and he said, “I am just a guy who knew Mike, I was friends with him for a lot of years. It is our twelfth year doing this, but full disclosure, we did have to take a year off when covid hit, but that wasn’t by choice. It would be better with snowmobiles but if cars are our only option, so be it.”

 

The poker players started off their mission at the Waseca Legion followed by the Willows in New Richland, Papa Ollie's out of Waldorf, the Thirsty Beaver in Elysian, and finally the Classics Pub in Waterville before heading back to the Waseca Legion with a full poker hand to regroup and mellow for a while. Judging and drinks to follow.