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Join Us at This Event in 2023

$50,000 Prize Money Guaranteed

MAP & DIRECTIONS

ACCOMMODATIONS

REGISTER JUDGE

REGISTER TEAM

RULES

I’M A CRAFT VENDOR

I’M A FOOD VENDOR

At $50,000, it’s one of the world’s richest competitions. Smoke at Pine Bluff Regional Park, Oct. 27-28, 2023.*

It’s a simple proposition: To be the best, you have to beat the best. And Sissy’s Log Cabin Smoke on the Water Championship at Saracen Casino is offering $50,000 to find out who’s the best.

Considered one of the world’s richest competitions with a guaranteed purse of $50,000, the KCBS-sanctioned Grand Champion purse of $15,000 is one of the largest on the competition circuit. We’re spreading the love by paying top five overall and top fifteen in all categories. Note: This is the last date to earn Team-of-the-Year points.

BRISKET   CHICKEN   PORK BUTT     RIBS  

Grand Champion

Reserve Champion

Third Place

Fourth Place

Fifth Place

$15,000

$5,000

$2,500

$1,500

$1,000

Payout Through 15 Places

in 4 Categories

First Place

Second Place

Third Place

Fourth Place

Fifth Place

Sixth - Tenth

Eleventh - Fifteenth

$2,000

$1,000

$700

$ 450

$ 350

$200

$150

Payout Top 5 Places Overall

Craft & Food Vendors, Join the Fun and

Make Some Money!

If you make the best of what you make, here’s your chance to offer your product to our festive crowds and make good money! Whether your specialty is woodworking, sewing, candlemaking or serving up mouth-watering festival food, we have a spot for you for a modest fee. But you must register to be included.

Note: Water will be available, but bring your generator if you need electricity.

In addition to the $15,000 cash prize, our Grand Champion will receive this stunning, massive championship ring custom-crafted exclusively for Smoke on the Water by the master jewelers at Sissy’s Log Cabin, the Mid-South’s premier independent jeweler since 1970. This impressive, karat-gold mounting is set with genuine gemstones. Professional footballers, eat your heart out! And while you’re at it, have a little barbecue on the side. Also, the winner will be eligible for the Jack Daniel’s World’s Championship draw.

In addition, we’re proud to announce our partnership with Smithfield, and the extra $3,000 they’ve added to our prize pool.


Saracen Casino Resort, located at 1 Saracen Resort Drive, Pine Bluff, AR 71601, at the intersection of Martha Mitchell Expressway and US 63/79, offers first-class dining and the ultimate personalized service in a Native American casino resort setting. Over 2,000 slot machines and 30 table games, poker play, sports book, with a variety of tournaments, big ticket giveaways and live entertainment will keep you entertained.

People’s Choice Barbecue Sampling Contest

Back by popular demand, we’ll present our People’s Choice sampling contest! Members of the barbecue-loving public will have a chance to taste-test world-class barbecue in blind-labeled samples.

Participants will vote for their favorite barbecue, by texting their nominees on their mobile phones. The People’s Choice Winner will be announced on the Main Stage along with our other winners.

Music: It Turns a BBQ Competition into a BBQ Party!

Our headliner, BLUFFETT featuring The Son Of A Sailor Band is a live-on-stage tribute to the legendary Jimmy Buffett & The Coral Reefer Band!  This show will have the conga lines moving with an amazing EIGHT PERFORMERS ON STAGE! Complete with beach-style props and costuming, you will believe this IS the real deal! The amazing look and vocals of Larry Pearson will have you convinced you have been transported to "Margaritaville"!

HEAR ALL YOUR FAVORITE HITS:

“Son Of A Sailor” “Margaritavile” “Cheeseburger In Paradise” “Come Monday” “Pencil Thin Moustache” “Havana Dreaming” “Boat Drinks” “Captain And The Kid” “Fins” “Sea Cruise” “He Went To Paris” “Changes In Latitude, Changes In Attitude” “A Pirate Looks At 40” and more!

Pine Bluff’s own Port City Blues Society Players is a loosely assembled group of expert Blues music practitioners. Some or all of them can be found singing and playing their soulful, heart-rending versions of Blues favorites throughout Central Arkansas and beyond. Our good fortune – and yours – will allow you to hear them playing their special brand of Blues Saturday afternoon.

Watch this space for announcements of other musical entertainment that will turn this event into a blast!

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* Due to a late-breaking local scheduling conflict that could have a negative impact on our participants’ enjoyment of this event, we have rescheduled it to take place one week later than originally planned. Registrations and fees already submitted are still good for the new dates.


Additionally, hotel construction at Saracen Casino requires relocation of our event to Smoke’s birthplace at 1100 Regional Park Drive, Pine Bluff, AR