Jai-Alai

[brucefan]

It's not a sport that lends itself well to tv monitors, you have to be there to hear to sounds of the game, in particular the smack of a pelota hitting the granite frontis

Doug while I agree there is nothing like watching Jai-Alai live, you pick up the sound pretty well on the simulcast , and picture quality wise , has improved greatly over the years

Dania puts out a quality product, with a full schedule of games, and should be supported for its efforts

<yt-formatted-string force-default-style="" class="style-scope ytd-video-primary-info-renderer" style="word-break: break-word;">Jai Alai On The Rise Again

</yt-formatted-string><yt-formatted-string force-default-style="" class="style-scope ytd-video-primary-info-renderer" style="word-break: break-word;">https://youtu.be/rI0g7-LKu00</yt-formatted-string>

 

[brucefan]

Doug while I agree there is nothing like watching Jai-Alai live, you pick up the sound pretty well on the simulcast , and picture quality wise , has improved greatly over the years

Dania puts out a quality product, with a full schedule of games, and should be supported for its efforts

<yt-formatted-string force-default-style="" class="style-scope ytd-video-primary-info-renderer" style="word-break: break-word;">Jai Alai On The Rise Again

</yt-formatted-string><yt-formatted-string force-default-style="" class="style-scope ytd-video-primary-info-renderer" style="word-break: break-word;">https://youtu.be/rI0g7-LKu00</yt-formatted-string>

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rI0g7-LKu00&feature=youtu.be

 

[Knightrofins]

Doug,

I think I mentioned this earlier on this thread but Dania Jai Alai was awesome about 25-35 years ago.

people would purchase SRO seats so they would have more $$ to bet. My parents took us a bunch and would give us $$ to bet with. Was a lot of fun!!

been there 2x in past 5-10 years and it looks sad. Maybe 5 rows deep now? (Was there 2 summers ago). However the casino and atmosphere there is very cool!!

 

[brucefan]

A live sport to watch and bet on

 

[Doug]

Magic City is not real Jai alai, the court is 120' long ( instead of more like 180' ),and the front and back walls are made of glass. The ball isn't a real pelota either, much slower , a real pelota would shatter that glass even with me throwing it !

It would be like betting on Little League, or that old casino slots type game with the mechanical horses, and calling that Del Mar.

 

[jaws2357]

If you like IPA's Jai Alai is good one Made By Cigar City in Tampa

 

[Knightrofins]

If you like IPA's Jai Alai is good one Made By Cigar City in Tampa

1 of my favorites!!

 

[Doug]

Doug,

I think I mentioned this earlier on this thread but Dania Jai Alai was awesome about 25-35 years ago.

people would purchase SRO seats so they would have more $$ to bet. My parents took us a bunch and would give us $$ to bet with. Was a lot of fun!!

been there 2x in past 5-10 years and it looks sad. Maybe 5 rows deep now? (Was there 2 summers ago). However the casino and atmosphere there is very cool!!

I got into it around 1976 or so at 13. Back then the Bridgeport players were the best !

What I thought was cool was the Milford, Ct players were seasonal and played here in the summer, then most of the roster went to Dania to play there in the winter

Over time the Milford/Dania players were as good as any around, including Miami !

It's a joke now, probably even in the Basque area of Spain

A very , very good top pro player gets paid like a truck driver, now !

The youth in the home areas of the sport don't train to become pros and play in the USA, anymore, nada dinero !

The quality of play doesn't match what it was a few decades ago

I believe the two best recent pelotaris were Goickechea and Arrietta, and both quit very young

 

[Doug]

Doug,

I think I mentioned this earlier on this thread but Dania Jai Alai was awesome about 25-35 years ago.

people would purchase SRO seats so they would have more $$ to bet. My parents took us a bunch and would give us $$ to bet with. Was a lot of fun!!

been there 2x in past 5-10 years and it looks sad. Maybe 5 rows deep now? (Was there 2 summers ago). However the casino and atmosphere there is very cool!!

Shit the general admission was like $1.50, and seats in the first rows maybe $6

It was really cool to be 16 and you could walk right up to betting windows and bet, or go to bar and order a beer, never carded, EVER !

Then they had the Telewager girls that would write a paper ticket at your seat....they were all also hookers on the side !

It was the place to be on a Friday or Saturday night !, for sure in the mid 70's !, before casinos

Just the sound of the pelota smacking off the frontis on a winter night in CT when it was magnified by weather conditions, and the packed house with like 5,000 people, clouds of smoke rising to the high ceilings, and crowds yelling at the players and refs on every point, it was totally electric, and the players were much better simply because there were far more amateurs going for pro.

The best value in sports ever, for a front row seat for like $5, even if you didn't bet on it.

I miss the game as a fan, and an amateur player that came close to playing pro

 

[brucefan]

I agree Doug but Dania is not playing, and , its live, and....you can bet on it

Beats betting on Korean baseball https://www.youtube.com/jaialaichannel

 

[Willie99]

Bolivar
Cachin
Chimela
Elu
Joey

haven't been in 28 years

 

[Doug]

Willie, you got all frontcourt guys except for Chimela !

Elu wasn't quite that highly regarded.

I'd put in
Egurbi
Juaristi
Ondarres
A dozens of frontcourters ahead of Elu

In the back...

Churrucca
Elorza
Attain... Florida
Goyo
Chasio

Come to mind

The whole roster in the late games at Bridgeport in the 70's was the best in the world

Great value in sports for nearly free admission.

 

[Willie99]

Elu was a runt, just love yelling his name

Cachin and Chimela were my favorite team

Also remember Casio in the back court

 

[Doug]

I guess that was Hartford ?

Cachin , aka Uriate ( I believe ) was right up there with the top 10 frontmen
I like Jose Egurbi and lesser known guys like Lecube ( awesome in singles, perfect serve specialist ), Beirecua

1970's Bridgeport was way better than Hartford ever was. I know many of these players and have practiced with lower level pros and future pros.

Chimela played there into his 50's at the end of his career, famous for his wall climbing abilities

 

[brucefan]

<header id="top" class="top artcl--h full-columns" style="box-sizing: border-box; grid-area: 1 / 1 / span 1 / span 6; width: 1200px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><header id="top" class="top artcl--h full-columns" style="box-sizing: border-box; grid-area: 1 / 1 / span 1 / span 6; width: 1200px;">Jai alai alive and well at The Casino at Dania Beach


By EMMETT HALL

S​

NOV 05, 2020 AT 4:44 PM




</header><section id="left" class="artcl--sect-tmpl left guttered width-100" style="box-sizing: border-box; width: calc(66% + 8px); padding-right: 12px; grid-area: 2 / 1 / span 1 / span 4;">

<figure class="" data-trk-photo-credit="Benny Bueno / Courtesy" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;">

<figcaption class="caption-text spaced spaced-top spaced-sm flex-container-row justify-space-between " style="box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; font-family: "Open Sans"; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); flex-direction: row; justify-content: space-between; margin-top: 8px;">Dania Beach Jai Alai Operations Manager Benny Bueno during his playing days at the Miami Jai Alai Fronton. (Benny Bueno / Courtesy)
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The fastest-moving ball sport in the world is still generating interest in South Florida for sports enthusiasts seeking the thrill of competition and gamblers looking to cash in on the action with the game of jai alai. The Casino at Dania Beach has been hosting jai alai since 1953 and is looking at a resurgence of the sport with nostalgic fans coming back to join a new generation.


Back in the heyday of the sport in the 1970s and ’80s there would between 5,000 to 10,000 fans at the jai alai frontons in Miami and Dania Beach yelling and screaming for the players to convert a point with the hope of cashing in a winning ticket. The newly renovated Dania Beach jai alai fronton has a seating capacity for 500 people as most of the space has been converted for casino usage.


<figure class="" data-trk-photo-credit="Casino at Dania Beach / Courtesy" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;">

<figcaption class="caption-text spaced spaced-top spaced-sm flex-container-row justify-space-between " style="box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; font-family: "Open Sans"; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); flex-direction: row; justify-content: space-between; margin-top: 8px;">The Casino at Dania Beach features jai alai action with seven performances a week. Legendary American-born player Benny Bueno scales the wall to catch the pelota with his cuesta during one his many matches in his 25-year career. (Casino at Dania Beach / Courtesy)
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The huge crowds may have diminished but the excitement remains the same with acrobatic players climbing the walls and whipping the pelotas at speeds of 180 miles per hour with their woven cestas. Although the focus today is on gambling, many people still attend to watch the beauty of the game performed by professional athletes from overseas as well as a few homegrown professionals.


The origin of jai alai began in the 14th century in the Basque Country in Spain and is played with two or four players on a three-walled court. It is a cultural sport that remains popular in Spain that has a strong infrastructure and training facilities. Spectators are behind a clear Plexiglas section observing the action.


Benny Bueno was one of those homegrown kids who grew up with the sport and enjoyed a successful and productive 25-year career playing at the Miami Jai Alai fronton. After hanging up the cesta and pelota, he now serves as the Dania Jai Alai operations manager.


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South Florida jai alai fans fondly recall another local legend who only needed one name to be recognized. Joey Cornblit was an American pioneer and one of only two players to have his number retired.


Dania Beach was back in the news when Ibon Aldazabal, of Spain, broke the Guinness World Record during the 2018 Fall Speed Challenge organized by Dania Jai Alai. He set the mark with a 190-mph throw of the pelota to break the 1979 record of 188 mph. Iban is currently one of 36 players on the Dania Beach roster for the 2020 fall season.


Bueno said he is committed to bringing back that kind of excitement to the public and believes the sport of jai alai can capture some of its past popularity.


“Our fall season usually starts in September, but because of the pandemic and safety protocols we had to put in place, we moved it back to Oct. 1 through Dec. 13 followed by the winter and spring seasons,” Bueno said. “We play a challenge tournament with top eight teams going to the quarterfinals by tabulating their wins, places and shows. In November, every Friday night there will be an elimination match leading to the semifinals in December with the top four teams. The last week of the season will feature the top teams battling it out for the championships on Thursday and Friday, Dec. 11 and 12, with a $15,000 pool prize.”


[More neighborhood news] Matthew McConaughey, Dr. Fauci back Parkland brothers' COVID-19 pledge »

There are seven jai alai performances a week from Wednesday to Sunday with matinees on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. The other performances are in the evening. The majority of players come from Spain with a few from France, Mexico and the United States.


In Miami, there used to be amateur jai alai courts where American players developed the necessary skills to play at the North Miami jai alai academy with the hope of joining the professional ranks. Bueno went through that system and became a pro in 1981 and retired in 2005.


<figure class="" data-trk-photo-credit="Casino at Dania Beach / Courtesy" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;">

<figcaption class="caption-text spaced spaced-top spaced-sm flex-container-row justify-space-between " style="box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; font-family: "Open Sans"; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); flex-direction: row; justify-content: space-between; margin-top: 8px;">Ibon Aldazabal, of Spain, broke the Guinness World Record during the 2018 Fall Speed Challenge organized by Dania Jai Alai with a recorded throw of 190 mph. He is on the Dania Beach Jai Alai roster this fall season. (Casino at Dania Beach / Courtesy)
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“I can’t complain, and I consider myself one of the lucky ones,” Bueno said. “I enjoyed a long career and was able to win a couple of championships along the way. My family got hooked on jai alai and fell in love with the game. My father played in an amateur jai alai league and there were about four of us kids around the age of 12 who picked up the cestas and we all eventually became professionals.”


There are different stages for jai alai players who start off as beginners, move on to the intermediate stage, the advanced stage and to the collegiate and professional level. The Dania roster is filled with experienced players who have strong training backgrounds.


</section></header>

 

[brucefan]

For those interested, live Jai Alai is now on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1-8JaEEiIbgsLg936Rp5ZQ


and can bet on here https://www.watchandwager.com/ ( can probably search the net for some promo codes )

 

[TheFalls]

This election fraud stuffs fixed jai lai deep in a locker.

 

[Knightrofins]

Are they allowing fans?

Is the casino open?

 

[brucefan]

Are they allowing fans?

Is the casino open?

Yes, and Yes

 

[HotshotGambler]

this is worth a try IMO.