At most poker games, contestants are at risk of losing a few dollars.

But at this variation of poker organized by the Health and Fitness Lab and the department of recreational and intramural sports, players could only win a way to healthier bodies and a chance to win prizes.

About 115 people participated in the lab’s second annual Poker Walk on Friday. The contestants walked two miles around campus. During the walk, they stopped at five stations to collect playing cards to form a poker hand.

Eighty-two of the 115 participants completed the walk with a full poker hand for a chance at prizes.

Tamara Ammar, fitness coordinator, said that the purpose of Poker Walk is to promote wellness and health and introduce the objectives of the Health and Fitness Lab.

Walkers with winning hands were notified yesterday by e-mail. Eight winners received prizes such as free massages, T-shirts, free haircuts and restaurant gift cards.

One winner, Doris Settle, a project manager at Administrative Computing Services, was excited to win a Western T-shirt and a gift certificate from First Impressions hair salon for a free cut and style.

“I was surprised,” Settle said. “I feel lucky.”

But even if they didn’t hit the jackpot, students such as Hopkinsville sophomore Amber Drabik enjoyed themselves.

“Everyone was smiling,” Drabik said. “Everyone was happy and was like, ‘I wish I had that card.'”

Tyler Arassas, a sophomore from Clarksville, Tenn., said he decided to participate in the Poker Walk at the last minute, but he is glad he made that decision.

“We just found out about it,” Arassas said. “We were going to walk around campus today, and we saw the sign by the door. So we said that would be fun. It would be better than just walking around campus. It was fun.”

Trish Barlow, a grants specialist, decided to participate in the poker walk with a friend who did it last year.

“We decided to do it together – to do something good for ourselves,” Barlow said.

Reach Whitney Ingersoll at [email protected].