Salas Brothers Named Pelota Press’ “Man of the Year Award”
Arturo and Javier Salas have been named the Pelota Press’ “Man of the Year” Award for 2023. The award is given out the person or persons whose distinguished work in keeping jai-alai alive is recognized.
In the man photo main shown here is Javier, their father, Javier Salas Gomez Palacio (still a good player in his 80s!), and Arturo Salas.
The group built their own cancha in Cancun and had Loren Harris run their kids leagues and tournaments until Loren unfortunately passed away a couple of years ago.
In case you haven’t heard, Magic City jai-alai has added two more owners and just might solidify the sport of jai-alai in America. “LT” was the greatest defensive player in the history of the NFL. No one can argue that. While Ray Lewis was the greatest middle linebacker the game has seen. Both players were the second player taken in their respective drafts and played for just one team their entire careers. With strong Miami ties, this was a natural. The list of investors is growing, it’s mind-boggling. Magic City’s press release will give you the full details.
MIAMI, Dec. 12, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Retired National Football League legends, Ray Lewis and Lawrence Taylor, today announced a partnership with the World Jai-Alai League (WJAL) to become co-owners of the Warriors. Lewis first joined the WJAL Board of Directors in March, kickstarting an incredible year in which the League has experienced a surge of growth and interest.
“We are thrilled to welcome this pair of NFL Hall of Famers, widely regarded as the two best defensive players of all time, as the newest team owners in the WJAL,” said Scott Savin, Chief Operating Officer of WJAL. “Working with Ray Lewis this year has already brought an incredible surge of energy into our league, and we know that LT’s unmatched passion will be felt throughout the fronton. By joining the world’s fastest ball sport, these two legends are proving once again that champions don’t retire, they redefine success!”
“Getting involved with the League this year has been incredibly exciting and I can’t wait to jump in and lead our new team to the championship alongside the one and only LT,” said Lewis. “World Jai-Alai League has seen incredible growth this year and we’re excited for the future of the sport.”
“Seeing the intensity that WJAL athletes have for their sport has sparked my competitive spirit and I’m looking forward to being a team owner this season,” said Taylor. “This opportunity is not just about team ownership; it’s about embracing a new challenge, fostering camaraderie, and building a new legacy in the world of jai-alai.”
WJAL this year has welcomed a new roster of notable ambassadors, investors and partners including Grammy Award-winning recording artist and entrepreneur Armando Christian Pérez, or Pitbull; three-time NBA champion Udonis Haslem; NFL Hall of Famer Ray Lewis; retired UFC fighter Jorge Masvidal; 2016 Olympic Gold Medalist Monica Puig; and professional tennis player Eugenie Bouchard.
WJAL is currently available on DraftKings and BetRivers for wagering in 16 states including Arizona; Colorado; Illinois; Iowa; Kansas; Maryland; Massachusetts; New Hampshire; New Jersey; Oregon; Pennsylvania; Tennessee; Virginia; Washington; West Virginia; and Wyoming.
A year after launching its social media presence, WJAL has leveraged social media to grow the sport with nearly 350,000 followers on TikTok and nearly 80,000 on Instagram. WJAL recently concluded its most successful season yet, with game days averaging over 100k unique views on TikTok. WJAL live games are available in over 300 million homes through streaming services including ESPN, FTF Sports and Triple B Media.
About World Jai-Alai League The World Jai-Alai League (WJAL) is dedicated to revitalizing the world’s fastest ball sport by modernizing gameplay, capitalizing on the exploding international sports wagering market, and delivering the sport through social media to a new generation of fans across the globe. For more information, go to www.battlecourtjaialai.com. The WJAL plays at the Magic City Fronton in Miami located at 450 N.W. 37th Ave.
The world’s greatest jai-alai player made a farewell USA appearance this past weekend in Dania and the fronton resembled more like Marlins Park or Tropicana Field than a packed cheering house that many had expected. Even Tiger’s chaukies were asked to come out in force but It more resembled a Chris Christie prep rally than a jai-alai tournament. A lack of notice time, lousy weather, and a total lack of marketing on Dania Casino’s end were the main reasons for such a terrible turnouts this past weekend to say goodbye to the Great Inaki Osa Goikoetxea. The lack of notice – just 7 days before it was announced that he was coming had to be a major reason. Let’s not forget to mention it’s a week before Christmas, too. People already have events planned this time of year. Christmas parties, family, shopping, and all. Plus, for people coming from out of town, airfares are outrageous, hotels marked up big time – all in an area around one of the world’s largest cruise line districts on top of it where most people arrive a night early before their departure. Try booking a flight with a few days’ notice or booking a hotel room now down there. Like Dr. Zaius told Charlton Heston, “you’re not going to like what you see”.
Lack of timing on the event
Why was the event not announced weeks or months earlier to give people more notice? Check out my previous post of Goiko coming and you will see that IF a trip was planned, the dates would be flexible with little notice because of tournaments in the Basque/Spain/France region being held. The event was finalized just a couple days after Goiko knew he was free to come that weekend. The opening Friday night appearance was also competing against the final night of the current Magic City season, where a near packed house was in attendance. See the photo below in the story. That event was planned several months ago, if not a year ago. This apparently was the only time he could come, and I don’t see him coming back to finish his career in the USA when he’s done in February. By then, Dania will be rapping it up and holding its final partidos.
Power outages due to weather issues
Making matters even worse, the power went out in the fronton 5 freaking times Saturday afternoon, including two back-to-back (belly to belly) delays. Each delay caused a ten-minute delay, as it takes that long for the lights to “reboot” and come back on. The cancha literally resembled a total eclipse taking place.
By the time Dave Lamont signed off two minutes after the matinee ended, he announced they would be open in just 89 minutes for the next evening performance. Usually there is about a 3-hour break in between performances. All 5 delays came in the first hour and 15 minutes of the performance and it’s amazing it didn’t go off more times as the weather continued to be nasty out there. They must have fixed the problem or something. Dania’s parking lot was flooded in the heavy rain. One patron told me he left with the water well above his ankles. Even good old rubbers on the shoes would have been worthless!
The weather was only an issue on Saturday, but it was nasty. Ask anyone in the entire state of Florida. Sunday is Football Day, and with the states 3 NFL teams battling for a playoff spot for the first time in years, if not decades, and that had to hurt, too.
Lack of marketing
According to a lot of people I’ve talked to, the main culprit was the lack of marketing on Dania’s behalf. Outside of the announcement during a broadcast the previous Friday night or with their video on the YouTube channel, Dania did nothing to promote it. No emails, no social media posts by them. Not a word on the cookie cutter website of theirs. It’s free – for crying out load. Promote it!!! Jeez. Outside of that announcement made by Dania, only the true faithful jai-alai fans that read Tigers site, or mine or Say Hi Li would have had a clue he was coming. Heck, for the past two years, I’ve promoted my business and this website with a full-page ad in the program. I didn’t even get a call or email from the marketing department asking about renewing for this season.
No one showed up in Miami either
Some people are bringing up that Goiko played in the that last Miami season before the decoupling. And no one was there. No argument there. In fact, I recall going to opening day and only me, Jesus and Jedan were in the entire building for the first 3 games. Jedan even had a Goiko bobblehead that he sat atop a chair in front of him and was taking photos with Goiko playing behind it. Now cool is that? Jedan even has a Super Bowl ring to boot!
The conclusion here is the Goiko event could not have been planned at another time and no one is to blame for that. But being around Christmas time, with little notice and completing against Magic City’s championship night with big money on the line for some of the players, lousy weather on the big day -Saturday – for two of the performances made matters worse.
What about Goiko’s performance?
The lackluster performance on Friday night by Goiko may have deterred people from coming from around the area on Saturday. Goiko‘s performance on Friday was not good. Some called it a waste of their Friday night to watch it. Some said it was totally lackluster effort. He didn’t care. He was tired. Was he jet-lagged? Someone even mentioned he didn’t want to show up the other players. Ouch!
He did not appear “in the money” for the 4 games he played that night, nor the next 3 on the Saturday matinee, for that matter. But you could see he was warming up near the end of the matinee and was on a roll by Sunday.
One former player from Dania Jai-alai told me that Goiko had not played there in several years and was trying to get acclimated to the court. He said you could tell by his rebotes that he was struggling on balls coming off the back wall. Dania is much different than most other canchas because of the way the back wall slants slightly toward the court and is why they have more chic chacs and chulas there than most other frontons do. It is very difficult to judge without experience on the court.
I think that may summed it up well from the former Dania player. With plenty of sport stars, the same thing could be said, but canchas are different from one another and that doesn’t help. Ever see someone step on the Magic City court for the first time and see how they do?
The final stats
Goiko’s final line for the 4 performances ended up decent overall, especially an 0/7 start.
Games Win Place Show Win% ITM%
18 3 5 2 .167 .556
As far as the handle goes, it appears that it was up from previous weekends, but we don’t have the numbers offhand.
In conclusion
After the event Sunday, Goiko spent a lot of time signing autographs, taking pictures with those in attendance before leaving.
A special thanks to Goiko for coming to the USA and to Benny for putting it on. It’s too bad it didn’t go perfectly and not everyone was able to cash their $12 quiniela tickets on Friday night! Thats why it’s called gambling, I guess.
A look of shock was clearly displayed on the face of Richard Donovan, President and CEO of World Jai-Alai. Paul Rico stopped shuffling the cards. I looked at Donovan and said, “What?”
Rico, Chief of Operations for World Jai-Alai, a highly decorated retired FBI agent, and I had been summoned for our near-daily, after hours gin rummy game in the president’s office. But, today, this call would change our lives.
Roger Wheeler, an Oklahoma oil magnate and owner of World Jai-Alai, had been gunned down in the parking lot of the Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa. It was May 27th, 1981.
Another call, more than 10 years earlier, in December of 1968, would, also, change my life.
The phone rang at 9 a.m. at Ronnie Aranow’s house in Hollywood, Florida. I was a sophomore at UF. Ronnie was my roommate in the fraternity house and invited me to spend Christmas vacation at his house.
I awakened to Ronnie’s voice talking to another fraternity brother of ours, Bill Hoffman. “Wild Bill” asked if we would like to meet him at Miami Amateur Jai-Alai that morning and play some Jai-Alai. When Ronnie asked me, I said, “Sure, I’ve seen it before, looks easy, would love to try it.”
Yes, I had done what most of us did in the 60s, gotten a fake ID that said I was 21, and used it to sneak into Tampa Jai-Alai. I was a senior at Plant High in Tampa when my close buddy Bob Cohn talked me into it. He said it is really a lot of fun.
With heart pounding, and trying to look older than I was, the Chief of Security (which I later found out was Sheriff Deputy Olin Harrell, later working closely with him in Tampa and Ocala) scrutinized my ID. He scanned me suspiciously and said, “you’re not 21, get the hell out of here.” And, with visions of being taken to jail, I fled as fast as I could.
But, there were two gates of entry to Tampa Jai-Alai. The next week I tried the South Gate, manned by an elderly gentleman whose eyesight was suspect. I GOT IN!
I will never forget my first experience in the fronton… the sights, smells, and the sound of the crack of the ball against the wall. I had never heard or seen anything like it.
Then, we bet a quiniela after Bob explained to me what one was. We lost, but the excitement of the game was incredible. Later, we hit a quiniela. We won $42.00 for a $6 box, that was a lot of money in those days. But, that was the end for me, had to go up to Gainesville, begin college and a possible engineering degree.
Now, I’m getting the opportunity to actually play that intriguing sport that I had seen in Tampa. The pros at Tampa Jai-Alai make it look easy. I was good at tennis, raquetball, and even handball, how hard could this possibly be?
So, we entered Miami Amateur, rented a cesta for $.50, and walked outside to this small court, where about 10 guys were hurling this rubber ball at a fairly large, concrete front wall. Ron and I got in line, waiting for our turn to go onto the court, with no warmup, no practice.
When it was my turn, I was allowed a couple of practice throws. I did what I would soon find out everyone does, throw the ball straight down, to the left, and almost hit the guy behind me. What? How did that happen?
It probably was almost 2 hours before I finally hit the front wall with a catch and throw. It was the most challenging, exciting experience of my life, even though I was a total failure.
I woke up the next morning, with soreness in muscles I didn’t even know I had, barely able to get out of bed, and asked Ronnie sheepishly, “Can we go back and play some more today?”
I was hooked, but completely unaware that I was about to embark on a path, a journey that included working 41 years in a sport I love with all my heart.
The phone call in 1981 would begin my involvement with the longest unsolved murder in American history. But, the phone call in 1968…. it gave me the most amazing life I ever could have imagined. And, I will try to share some of those incredible experiences with you in the coming articles.
Starting tomorrow, The Pelota Press website and the Pelota Press Tampa Bay Facebook page will rerun the entire series from beginning to end.
The three-and-a-half-year run ended recently, brining back memories from the guy who was literally the “fly on the wall” during the heydays of jai-alai as part of management of the world’s largest jai-alai operator.
I know many of you did not get to see some of the earlier stories as word spread about them posted on a new developed jai-alai blog site. And I know myself, refreshing these stories from 40 months ago will be a treat itself.
Starting tomorrow, the first Marty story will reappear on the Pelota Press website and on our new Facebook page – Pelota Press – Tampa Bay. I don’t use Facebook personally (and I don’t trust the founder) but I realize its popularity across the world and the ability for anyone to post a reply about it. Heck, even MLB Hall of Famer Fred McGriff clicked “Loved” a story I recently posted!
NJAA’s matchmaker Anthony put together a first of its kind paritdo event at the St. Pete Cancha last Saturday 12/09 and came out a clear-cut winner in the headliner match.
Games were to be played to either 10 points or 7 and were to feature one on one partido’s in the best of 3.
Anthony, the current USA Masters Champion of Jai-Alai, was able to sweep another top player on the Tampa Bay roster, Rule, by the identical scores of 10-4.
Anthony’s Draft Kings odds to win were 2-1.
There were several other matches on the undercard.
Seminole King beat Ricky Hernandez 7-6 and 7-4 in which some billed as the only upset on the day. The Pelota Press disagrees because Ricky has only played 2-3 times in the past 2 ½ years and was going to be rusty. Seminole King is no chopped liver himself and has played steady about 3 times a week for the past 13 years or so. Ricky, the former Tampa pro, has consistently been ranked as a top 3 player (if not number 1) for the past 13 years himself on the Sunshine City court.
The second partido of the day included Magic Mike vs. Alex. Those scores were identical to Anthony vs. Rule, with Alex winning the two games 10-4. Magic Mike, the computer consultant, and web poster for the Pelota Press has only been able to play one day a week, vs the 6 times a week he had played for the previous 15 years, sometimes racking in over 1,500 games a year, Mike is lucky to get in 4 games a week now with Saturday mornings the only time he can sneak away from his new larger computer store location and working it solo 7 days a week. Mike did not have a good day and missed many easy catches. Alex is a crafty front courter who can beat you many ways and was a 6-5 favorite.
The 3rd match was me vs Chip. With 100 clams on the line, this was the clear cut hardest fought match of the day. I won the first game 10-8 and had come back in game 2 to tie Chip at 9 a piece before hitting the top metal strip attempting a bomb throw to go over Chips head. The players agreed to a draw as they were exhausted after the 10-8 and 10-9 games. The odds were even money on this match, although I was adamant Chip would win. There is a chance game 3 will be played at a date TBA. With Goiko heading to Dania this weekend, it may be at a much later date with the holidays rolling in too. Surprising Chip said no kill shots allowed, and I quickly agreed. With dough on the line, Chip can turn it up a notch and is no slouch out there with plenty of kill shots and a good rebote. Plus, he’s got some good genes in him, as he is the brother of “ANT-nee”.
The event will likely do it all again this spring. Stay tuned.
Goiko to make Farewell USA Appearance at Dania Jai-alai This Weekend
One of the top players to ever play the sport of jai-alai will be making his farewell appearance in the USA this weekend at Dania Jai-alai.
As we reported a few months ago, Inaki Osa Goikoetxea, better known as “Goiko”, is retiring from playing jai-alai.
Arguably, the best player in the world for the past twenty (20) years, and certainly one of the top 3 players of all-time (if not the greatest), Goiko will be at Dania Jai-alai this entire weekend – Friday night, Saturday matinee and evening and then on Sunday afternoon. Wagers can be placed in person or on Watch and Wager and you will be able to place pari-mutual wagering on him.
Goiko made is pro debut in Milan in 1996 and then moved to the United States the year later and was first playing at Newport. Shortly afterwards, he was a star player at Miami.
How did this whole unpredictable scene take place?
Well, it started in June when Goiko called Benny telling him to take a look at a player from his town – Uranga. Benny of course had been actively seeking 22 young players from Spain/France to play in the 3-month tournament, which is now under way. Nearly half of last years roster was unable to make it again for the longer season, and there were several openings on the roster.
At the end of their conversation, Goiko mentioned to Benny that he was retiring in February of ’24 and thought it would be a good idea to come and play in Dania for a weekend when his busy schedule in Spain allowed for it.
The conversation kind of died out at that point until this past weekend, when Benny’s phone rang again. It was Goikoetxea. He has the coming weekend off after the semifinal match was played just yesterday.
A couple of conversations later and it was finalized.
Goiko wanted to give a proper farewell to his fans in the USA and it all starts this Friday night at 7pm, at Dania Casino and Jai-alai.
Magic City Battle Court Roster Growing for 2024 – WOW Lopez & Olharan Plus More!
Some really big names are joining the Magic City Battle Court Jai-Alai roster for February 2024 including top world-renowned talents Lopez and Olharan. The other four new players are Duke-Hernandez, Chris Cabrera, Amigorena and Foronda.
The world-renowned Lopez last played in the US at the Miami Jai-Alai fronton during the 2020-21 meet competing against the likes of Goiko, Aritz and Erik. Olharan played at Ft. Pierce during 2013-14. Both Lopez and Olharan have extensive international circuit experience. Duke-Hernandez has played at the Dania, Miami and Ft. Pierce frontons as well as the international circuit. Chris Cabrera played at Calder Jai-Alai from 2019-2021 under the player name of El Nino while Amigorena and Foronda were very popular regulars at Dania Jai-Alai for a number of years, both departing in 2021.
Iriondo is the only current player not playing at Magic City next year as he is returning to Spain to finish studies for his engineering degree. Iriondo is a fan favorite and will be sorely missed! We wish him the best with his engineering studies and career.
Magic City Fronton will be officially announcing this information today, Dec. 4, during their Pelota Game broadcast with game 1 starting at 1:30-pm EST. Stu Neiman and Andrew Blechman will be discussing this info on The Jai-Alai Network on YouTube so don’t miss out be sure to have your questions ready for the chat where they interact with the fans! Coverage of today’s games starts at 1:20-pm EST. Here is the YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/c/jaialainetwork
The six new players are joining the Magic City roster for the expansion of Battle Court Jai-Alai which will grow to 6-teams from the current 5-team World Jai-Alai League (WJAL). This expansion of an additional Battle Court team will likely require additional match day(s) with exact details TBD. The next Battle Court draft is scheduled for January 9 so players and teams can prep for the next Battle Court season which starts in early February. These new players will make the fast-paced short-court Jai-Alai Battle Court matches even more competitive at the Magic City Fronton.
Battle Court sports betting match wagers are currently done through DraftKings or BetRivers online sportsbooks. DraftKings is currently available for Jai-Alai Battle Court sports wagers in AZ, IA, IL, KS, NH, MA, NJ, OR, PA, TN, WA, WY, WV plus Ontario, Canada. BetRivers is currently available in AZ, CO, IA, IL, NJ, PA, VA, WV plus Ontario, Canada for Battle Court sports wagers. Expansion efforts for Battle Court sports wagers are ongoing so stay tuned for more states to follow.
Magic City will also be announcing an additional treat for Jai-Alai fans; (3) Sundays of Pelota Games (aka pari-mutuel Jai-Alai games) in February 2024 where there will be (3) feature Championship Doubles Pelota Games each Sunday where the best players will compete, including the new Battle Court players. These games will have the standard 8-teams and be played under the traditional Spec-7 format where points double after the first round and the first team to 7-points or more wins the game. Some details are still being finalized; however there will be more games than the Magic City traditional 8-games on these special Sundays. These special Sundays will be LIVE events where fans are invited to attend the Magic City Fronton at the Magic City Casino in Miami, Florida!
Note: The current Fall 2023 Battle Court season has two key events coming very soon; the Playoff Dec. 11 at 5-pm EST and the Championship Final on Dec. 15 at 7-pm EST. The Dec. 11 Playoff is between the 2nd and 3rd place teams to decide who faces off against the 1st place team in the finals on Friday night, Dec. 15. Fridays are always LIVE events where fans can enjoy the exciting Battle Court Jai-Alai action for FREE at the Magic City Fronton!
Dania Jai-alai Opens for its 70th Anniversary Season
Dannia Jai-alai opened this past weekend to celebrate its 70th anniversary before a decent crowd of over 300 on Friday night.
The (mostly) young roster of 22 marched out on the court along with the dapper looking jai-alai operations manager Benny Beuno to begin the festivities. This year’s event was lengthened a month to 3 months and is played in a tournament format to avoid the costly and time-consuming visa regulations.
Unfortunately, game 1 was did not go well at all. There were lots of dropped balls, a whiffed ball, a serve that hit above the red padding on the front wall (I can’t recall ever seeing that before) and even a super long overserve that took off like an F-35. I was expecting Nate “The Great” to come out (I miss that guy!) and do his shenanigans.
Kidding aside, the play did get better in game 2 and for the rest of the night. Heck, these guys had only been in America a day or two to practice on a new court and get use to an 8-team rotation vs. the standard Partido play their accustomed to in Spain. Talk about being nervous too. And one of the guys is just sixteen! Yes 16! Imagine that!
There was a great turnout for opening night, nearly a full house. And the court looked spectacular too – a freshly painted shiny bright blue look, the cracks patched up and lots of new padding in place. I did miss all the jerseys that had lined above the side and back walls, and it looked kind of “naked” up there. Perhaps because they had new jerseys on? I personally didn’t care for a couple of them, especially the white shirt post 3. But who cares, it’s only a uniform, I guess.
I received multiple texts Friday on the camera/video coverage of the event and not being able to see the ball. When I got home Saturday evening, I watched a few games on my phone and IPAD and had no issues at all seeing the ball. In fact, I thought the court looked great on a small screen. I thought the ball was as visible as ever and have always liked the blue color over the green any day – not only on the jai-alai court, but on tennis courts as well.
Later this month, The Pelota Press is going to be celebrating Dania’s historical opening 70 years with lot of details and photographs, as the museum has a complete collection of newspaper articles and photos in a huge scrap book of Dania getting approved to build a jai-alai fronton. There were a ton on delays and lawsuits against it.
That very court they are playing on now was once a quiet plot of land where tomatoes were grown. Dania was to be the second fronton to open in America (counting only one for the two structures that went up in Miami). Delays caused it to become the 3rd one to open in the USA, with Tampa officially opening a few days before Dania did in 1953.
Miami jai-alai sued Dania stating that the state law said no fronton shall be issued a pari-mutual permit within 20 miles of one another. The Miami fronton submitted a map which measured the distance as 18.5 miles “as the crow flies” between the Miami fronton and Dania’s. Dania Jai-alai countered that the distance was over 20 miles by road travel over the shortest highway route. The case went to the Florida Supreme Court who ruled that Jai-alai customers were not crows and could not fly and allowed the permit to be issued. Dania opened their doors in late December before 4,127 fans on opening night.
Several additions were added to the fronton over the years, including the massive Clubhouse Restaurant overlooking the court in 1979. Crowds of over 10,000 a night on weekends were common. Driving around on Saturday morning there, I am still amazed at the size the of the massive parking lots on the property, and the days when you were lucky to find a place to park there. And then walking into a real palace – packed with people, a huge upper-level food court, bars, projector TVs, and gift shops everywhere. Those certainly were the good old days.
