Jai-Alai

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this is worth a try IMO.


1 of my favorites!!
actually bought a 4 pack recently of Spanish cedar Jai alai. Has some cracked pepper in it. Pretty good as well
 

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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

Seeing this post reminded me that Doug has passed

RIP


I'm thinking most of the players today weren't even born the last time I went to Jai-Alai
 

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Wow didn’t know Doug had died. What happened? RIP big fella.

did anybody here go to CT jai alai in the 90s? I remember the following players

xabat (was my fave)
Fo ( big dude)
tevin
badiola (best back court player)
urquidi
dreux (could never win with this guy and always beat me)
 

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Thanks for the info Bruce....Have not seen this in long time. I have been to Frontons in both Hartford, CT and Newport, RI many many many times...long time ago.
 

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I have a good friend that came to CT from Spain to play. Last name is Orbea. Have known him for over 20 years now. He never understood how people always said the game was fixed. He said in all the years he played, he never knew anyone who fixed a game. He said it was way to competitive and no way anyone would lose on purpose. Maybe Florida was different but he said all the years he played in CT all the guys just laughed about how the game was fixed.
 

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I used to go to the Orlando jai alai fronton all the time in my younger days. This is also where they had a decent racebook in the late 90's.

You haven't suffered pure gambling agony until you've lost a possible superfecta when a player missed an easy catch of the pelota.

Jai alai is a really cool sport to watch live.

I also seem to remember establishments nearby by the names of Club Juana and Rachels but this is a family forum and I wouldn't want to offend anyone.
 
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I used to go to the Orlando jai alai fronton all the time in my younger days. This is also where they had a decent racebook in the late 90's.

You haven't suffered pure gambling agony until you've lost a possible superfecta when a player missed an easy catch of the pelota.

Jai alai is a really cool sport to watch live.

I also seem to remember establishments nearby by the names of Club Juana and Rachels but this is a family forum and I wouldn't want to offend anyone.

1792 & 436 and was about to mention Rachels!!!

We knew a few people who worked at both clubs who would hook us up when it came for bachelor party time
 

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1792 & 436 and was about to mention Rachels!!!

We knew a few people who worked at both clubs who would hook us up when it came for bachelor party time

Lol that was dangerous having all of that in the same proximity. The only thing deadlier to the bankroll was Tampa Downs, Derby Lane, and Mons Venus so close to each other in Tampa.

Good times!

I would remember some of the names of the Orlando Jai Alai players if someone mentioned them. Maybe. What was really great every January was that big tournament featuring the best players from all over the place.

Dania was a palace. I really enjoyed it. Gulfstream Park in the day, Hollywood dogs at night.

Is Jai Alai on the verge of a comeback? Be great if it was.
 
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Lol that was dangerous having all of that in the same proximity. The only thing deadlier to the bankroll was Tampa Downs, Derby Lane, and Mons Venus so close to each other in Tampa.

Good times!

I would remember some of the names of the Orlando Jai Alai players if someone mentioned them. Maybe. What was really great every January was that big tournament featuring the best players from all over the place.

Dania was a palace. I really enjoyed it. Gulfstream Park in the day, Hollywood dogs at night.

Is Jai Alai on the verge of a comeback? Be great if it was.


I only did Orlando Jai Alai once or twice and didnt care for it too much (enjoyed Dania a whole bunch more). Friends would go there years later to bet horses.

Gulfstream is AWESEOME as they redid the place. In the mid 2000's, they used to have $5 concerts (they gave back $2 gambling vouchers) and we'd see Styx, Huey Lewis, REO Speedwagon and a few others. WAs a fun day. Now they have really good restaurants and shopping. Used to work 5 min away for many years but rarely ever went.

I was fan of Pompano Harness racing as a kid as i didnt live to far. Would go with my friends back in middle school/high school as a parent would take us.

Dania Jai alai not really making a comeback. Its more of a "front" for poker, horse racing, and a BEAUTIFUL casino in there with a cool night club atmosphere and good restaurants. Was there summer 2018 i think? (its somewhere on this thread i assume)
 

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Wow didn’t know Doug had died. What happened? RIP big fella.

did anybody here go to CT jai alai in the 90s? I remember the following players

xabat (was my fave)
Fo ( big dude)
tevin
badiola (best back court player)
urquidi
dreux (could never win with this guy and always beat me)

Died in his sleep a few months ago, his daughter came in here to tell us

I would say late 70's to 1992 was my Jai Alai phase, then Foxwoods opened killing the sport

Fo & Badiola I remember

My favorites were Cachin, Bolivar, Remen , Chimella, Casio. Other names include Joey, Zabala, Elu, Giesasolla (SP) Arrietta



I remember when some Hartford players were caught gambling on football. The FBI wiretapped their bookie, and arrests were made. Their bookie, Chuck, was our bookie at the time and we were scared shitless. But nothing ever happened.

Chuck was busted too
 

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I would say late 70's to 1992 was my Jai Alai phase


I remember when some Hartford players were caught gambling on football. The FBI wiretapped their bookie, and arrests were made. Their bookie, Chuck, was our bookie at the time and we were scared shitless. But nothing ever happened.

Chuck was busted too
Willie living dangerous Stop-SS--
 

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Magic City Force Outs! The 10-week spring season at Magic City wraps up on Monday afternoon, and the pools are getting forced out! The Jai-5 pool has a $2,000 minimum guarantee, while the Mighty Ocho has a $4,000 minimum guarantee. No need to have the only winning ticket--if you can put together a winning combination of either wager you will score your share of the pool! The first game at Magic City on Monday is at 1:00 p.m. ET / 10:00 a.m. PT. Don't miss out on these enhanced value wager opportunities!RonRon has cemented his claim to the top spot at Magic City this meet, holding a sizable lead over CRB in all games and the championship singles battle. The team wins competition is still up-in-the-air all the way to the last day, with Kubala-Benny holding a slight edge over Juice-RonRon and Bueno-Ben. Magic City will go dark after Monday for three weeks and will return on May 1.While Magic City takes a break, the pelotaris at Dania Jai Alai continue their season through the rest of April. Erik continues his domination of the cancha, with 20 wins separating him and his next closest rival, Barandika. Things are tighter in the team doubles competition, with Barandika-Ladutxe clinging to a lead over Zulaika-Ladutxe, Johan-Gorka, and Erik-Amigorena. Dania has jai alai action Wednesday-Sunday every week. Don't miss out!

The BEST PLACE to play jai alai is at www.watchandwager.com
 
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The good news:

Sports Gambling has a STRONG chance to come to Florida

the bad news:

We may be getting rid of jai alai, harness racing, and quarter horse racing.

Now i have only been to jai alai no more than 5 times in the past 20 years and havent been to a harness or horse racing track in over 20 years (unless a concert was playing at gulfstream), I feel a little bummed. Kinda like feeling bad that something is going out of business that you used to like but you havent given them any business in ages
 

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The good news:

Sports Gambling has a STRONG chance to come to Florida

the bad news:

We may be getting rid of jai alai, harness racing, and quarter horse racing.

Now i have only been to jai alai no more than 5 times in the past 20 years and havent been to a harness or horse racing track in over 20 years (unless a concert was playing at gulfstream), I feel a little bummed. Kinda like feeling bad that something is going out of business that you used to like but you havent given them any business in ages

haha I know exactly what you mean
 

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<header class="entry-content-header" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px rgb(225, 225, 225); font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 18px; line-height: inherit; font-family: "news cycle", HelveticaNeue, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica-Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">Decoupling Approved. What’s Next?

JEFF ‘LACA’ CONWAY BLOGS
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jaigrave.jpg
</figure>
As you know likely know by now, the sport of jai-alai has been decoupled in the State of Florida. The stunning news was finalized as the House approved in Wednesday afternoon, a day after the Senate had passed the measure.
Decoupling in the jai-alai pari-mutuel industry gives the owners the right to drop conducting the game in order to keep their more lucrative card games (poker and the designated-player games) going. The savings, in some cases, can save the permit holder millions of dollars a year.
Lets look into the what happened. When I posted a previous story a month ago, I gave the odds at 9-2 that decoupling won’t happen. There were several reasons for these odds, because for the past ten years or show, that had been the outcome.
Those 9-2 odds drastically changed in an opposite direction as several stunning announcements were made.
Strike 1
First, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis reached a 30-year deal with the Seminole Indians in a massive gambling bill that could make Florida the next gambling mecca in the United States. This announcement by DeSantis and the Tribe surprised everybody. He’s a smooth negotiator that others had failed at. Right now, the Tribe pays nothing in taxes to the State of Florida, as they successfully were able to stop making $350 million dollar payments three years ago. The courts agreed that by allowing the parimutuels to conduct the designated player games at the facilities was an infringement of the Tribe’s rights to be the sole operator of such card games. Getting a deal that would satisfy the Tribe, the parimutuels and the Florida legislature seemed impossible. Nobody was willing to budge for years. But along came the prospect of Sports Betting – a whole new “ball game” in gambling terms and opportunities.
DeSantis and others were able to come up with an agreement that was signed off my the Tribe and the pari-mutuels about two weeks before the 60-day legislative session was too end. Those short sessions always seemed to be an issue as the gambling issues like decoupling had been kicked down the road as more important things keep the House and Senate busy. But now, a gambling pack was in place. Signed, sealed and Delivered. A big Strike 1. Now is was a matter of needing the time to go over it.
Strike 2
Time was about to run out again, but another stunning announcement was made. Congress was going to be called back to their seats just 2 ½ weeks later for a Special Session to discuss solely the gambling issues. An event like that is rare, but in this case is was important. Billions of dollars’ worth important to the State. This deal was complicated and involved a lot of moving parts. Legislators needed to be educated on many things – all from the eyes of the Tribe and pari-mutuel viewpoints. And what’s in store to the State of Florida.
So instead of the issue of time running out in the regular session, a common experience, an entire new session – only to involve gambling issues – was coming the week of May 17[SUP]th[/SUP]. A huge Strike 2. Now time and agreement was in place and only the legislators needed approval. The gambling issues were three things – getting an agreement approved that was already agreed upon by the Tribe and the pari-mutuels, the formation of a gambling commission; and the decoupling of jai-alai & harness racing – which pari-mutuel owners had been lobbying years for.
Strike 3
By Wednesday May 20[SUP]th[/SUP], it was all over. The Senate had approved the vote 38-1. The House approved it 97-17.
The Tribe gets run sports betting with hubs set up at parimutuels, along with the more lucrative mobile sports betting on cell phones and computers. In three years, they can apply for slots and roulette gambling on the phones. The sports betting will start October 15[SUP]th[/SUP] but there are several issues with that. We will get into that shortly. The Tribe gets three more casinos to be operated on their property either in Hollywood (Florida) or Tampa. Those hotels would operate under a different name like Wynn or Bally. They also get “real” Roulette and Craps games (not only the electronic ones). The State will get $500 million a year in return.
Jai-alai can legally stop their games as of July 1[SUP]st [/SUP] and continue all the other operations. So what is going to happen next?
Dania Jai-alai
Dania’s current season closes May 30[SUP]th[/SUP]. As the last full court, full roster jai-alai court operating in America, this venue gathers the most interest. The new owners have obviously lost a lot of money on jai-alai since taking over a few years ago and remodeling the entire building. But they love jai-alai and the ability to offer something most the other casino’s and racino’s don’t have- live betting on a sport right in front of them. They also have a great relationship with Benny, who now may be our sole “lobbyist” to keep Dania open if he even has a say in it. It’s going to be a hard task. Money usually talks. There is also reportedly an agreement with the players union for another year and a half. It is unknown if there is an escape clause in it for decoupling, or a buyout clause. The owners could shut down with their last performance that Sunday afternoon on May 30[SUP]th[/SUP] or keep it going later in the summer when the next season is suppose to start. No one is talking right now, so the outcome will be known later. Chances are we won’t hear anything for a while, making Memorial Day weekend a must trip to Dania later this month.
Chance of jai-alai returning = 35%
Miami Jai-alai
The “Yankee Stadium” of jai-alai has been open since 1924 and can now open their Cirque du Soleil without jai-alai in the way. They almost made it to 100 years. When I went to “opening day” earlier this season, there were 3 people in the stands. Jesus, Jeden and Ron Ron. There were a lot of great memories there over the decades and the place has been in disarray for many years now.
Chance of jai-alai returning = 0.0001%
Ft. Piece, Ocala, Orlando Jai-alai
Ocala and Orlando had been running the two-man show for years now, so there is no question what is going to happen there. Orlando was supposed to be redeveloped into a housing complex, but COVID apparently put a hold on that. Ft. Pierce is holding the two-man games right now, and that will be the end of Ft. Piece jai-alai when their season ends later this month
Chance of any of the 3 returning = 0.00000001 %
Calder Jai-alai
Three years ago, they got out of the horse racing business in exchange for jai-alai. Thoroughbred racing was NOT decoupled. The owners are Churchill Downs and now can shut down the jai-alai operations legally July 1[SUP]st.[/SUP]. Their current season is scheduled to end August 29[SUP]th[/SUP]. The building will likely be converted into some kind of entertainment center for live music or perhaps a sportsbook bar. That was always in the plans when decoupling happened.
Chance of jai-alai returning = 0.00000001%
Magic City Jai-alai
They converted from dog racing to jai-alai four years ago to likely to save money and open up some prime real estate. Their music venue inside was converted into a short court, clear glass fronton which is operating to this day. Dog racing in Florida was decoupled by an amendment in 2018, but they are still operating under the dog racing permit and can shut down at any time. But Scott Savin and company like jai-alai and it’s not likely going anywhere anytime soon. They did say this was a 3-5 project and we are in year 4. Plus they have added the one-on-one partidos with $100K in prize money to the players. This decoupling measure has absolutely no effect on them as far as staying open or not. I’m sure plenty of players from the other fronton’s have been contacting Stu and Arra. If they are the only game left in town, the handles would likely improve.
Edgewater Jai-alai
Magic City worked out an agreement with the City of Miami to open another fronton in downtown Miami recently (see my blog from a couple months ago). It’s been quiet ever since. Another fronton just a few miles away was in the plans, but no info has been released yet. Now they would have many more players to put on their roster.
Pompano Jai-alai
There were big plans to convert their harness racing to jai-alai – again to save money and open up real estate in what is to be a multibillion project on the site. But their version of horse racing was decoupled also, so those plans are out the door. It’s too bad, the fronton was going to be a good one. One last year of horse racing there and that is it. They are the busiest parimutuel facility in the state in casino revenue from slots, etc. So the Jai-alai plans are likely gone. Thousands of jobs will be lost in the horse breeding industry that used Pompano as their sole source. The House regulatory group had voted to keep it alive but the Senate convinced them to decouple it on Wednesday. Only thoroughbred racing in Gulfstream and Tampa Bay Downs are required to stay open in the parimutuel industry in order to keep the other casino games going.
The Legal Issues may be the only savior
So, is jai-alai over? Its up to the owners to decide. And now the court system. There are lawsuits coming. And the Federal Government has a say in the deal signed with the Tribe that could very well throw out the Sports Betting aspect of the agreement.
The Compact or deal with the Tribe is subject to approval from U.S. Department of the Interior. They have 45 days to sign off on it after the governor signs the bill. This falls under the Federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. Offering mobile sports betting or operating the “hub and spoke model” where the bets are placed at parimutuels (and other sites) via the Internet with the servers on tribal property. California had this problem and it could be Florida’s too. Supporters say if the server is on tribal grounds that is processing the bet, then the bet is only subject to the laws on the reservation. Either way, the Compact will remain in place with or without sports betting. The Tribe would only have to pay $400 million a year to the State of Florida vs. $500 million.
That is not the only obstacle they will face. The other one is a lawsuit in the works by John Sowinski of “No Casinos”. They got the Amendment 3 on the ballot and passed with 71% of the vote in 2018 that prevents any expansion of gambling unless through a voter referendum and get 60% of the vote. However, that amendment excludes the Tribe but the deal now calls on the Tribe to work with parimutuels and others to offer sports betting via the computer “airwaves” and allows for more huge casinos to open. There is also a question if “Sports betting” is a common casino game as the amendment was worded. Sports betting is not a common game and is never mentioned in the poorly worded amendment.
How can jai-alai be saved? Sowinski has said that the decompiling of game rooms from parimutuels constitutes an increase in Class III gambling in Florida and that it is part of the Compact. I’m not sure what that means, since they are shutting it down and not increasing gambling in this case.
This is going to drag on for a long time, and with the courts backed up since March of last year due to COVID-19, it may be awhile to everything is ironed out.
Could a pending lawsuit put everything on hold? Could jai-alai be saved? We shall see.
 

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Some positive Dania news Jeff ‘Laca’ Conway Blogs – Pelota Press

We have some really good news, when some good news has been hard to find this week for those in the jai-alali world.
Dania Jai-alai is going to resume their season after the regular season closes down Memorial Day weekend.
Their next “season” is still set for September 1[SUP]st[/SUP] thru November 30[SUP]th[/SUP] and live full court jai-alai will continue.
A CBA is in place until March of 2023 with the players, and it is very likely Dania will continue operations at least thru those dates.
As I have reported in my last blog, the owners DO like jai-alai and they DO like Benny. They like the idea of having something different to offer to spectators or gamblers entering the building that the Tribe does not offer. Often, those jai-alai fans wander into the casino or have a meal and drinks.
This is not to say a buy-out is not impossible, but it would be expensive and the owners do not look at business like that.
No one is going to tell you what to do with your money, but we hope Jai-alai fans across America help support Dania to make the decision of Decoupling a difficult one. The only thing in the way now is a John Hancock from the Governor, and a possible lawsuit from No Casinos who claim decoupling is “an expansion of gambling”.

daniadelay-1-1030x773.jpg
 

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