In 1973, Ocala Jai-Alai’s inaugural season was a booming success. Tampa Jai-Alai was on an upward trajectory of record attendance and pari-mutuel handle (betting) mainly due to Buddy Berenson making capital improvements to the facility and bringing in some top tier players, such as Bolivar and Gorrono. In the ’50s and ’60s, the Tampa Fronton […]
By Jeff “Laca” Conway As the Pelota Press speculated, an agreement has been reached with the owners of Magic City Casino and the Miami City Commissioners to move forward with plans to open another jai-alai fronton and card room just a few miles east of their existing fronton. The city commissioners voted 4-1 and now […]
Two blockbuster Hollywood movies of the late 60s were written by Alan R. Trustman. His interest turned from Hollywood to Jai-Alai. By Marty Fleischman The Thomas Crown Affair, debuted in the theaters in 1968. Starring the hottest male actor of that time, Steve McQueen, the movie was a tremendous hit. Alan R. Trustman wrote it. The […]
By Loren Harris In the spring of 1984 I was working and practicing at Dania Jai Alai, and also playing in the World Jai Alai school in North Miami. It was a busy schedule but something that was a joy to live. It was a quest to try to make it to play at the […]
By Jeff “Laca” Conway Cancun, Mexico: The pandemic has delayed things considerably, but the Fronton Salas in Cancun has been slowly adding on improvements to getting the long anticipated project completed. As you can see from the video, a new roof has been added and some seating area up in the front of the court. […]
By Jeff “Laca” Conway In early July 2018, the owners of Magic City Casino were granted a permit from the Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering commission to open another jai-alai fronton in the downtown Miami area at 3050 Biscayne Blvd. Their plans were to run a jai-alai schedule from May through November and also allow […]
One of our PR goals for Ocala Jai-Alai was to help out the local community. Here we contributed baseball jerseys to the local youth baseball league in the adjacent community of Orange Lake. The headline in the Ocala Star Banner on the front page read, “Jai-Alai opens to sparse crowd.” The Gainesville Sun had a […]
Gorrono, making his return to the United States, played his first season in Tampa and the inaugural Ocala Jai-Alai season. Here he shows Ocala employees and aspiring amateur Jai-Alai players the proper way to catch the pelota. From l. to r., Rick Bergman (announcer), Steve Bourie (mutuel calculator), Gorrono, Marty Fleischman (PR Director), Andy de […]
(Photo above is “Rastock” playing on our court) By Jeff “Laca” Conway The NJAA meet with the City of St. Pete this morning to go over plans for the big renovation project about to take place. The meeting went very well. Here is what we can tell you now: The first phase, updating the lighting […]
By Jeff “Laca” Conway Due to the pandemic situation and restrictions , there has been some changes in the Cancun Tournament plans. The new amateur court that is finishing up the final touches on its court has changed the dates and plans of what is going on. Instead of a celebration of the Salas’s father’s […]
