The 4th annual Dania Beach Invitational Jai alai Tournament starts up in little over 3 weeks from now with opening night starting on Thursday, December 4th.
The “season” will last thru the last day of February with a Saturday night performance. Performances will run matinees at 1pm on Tuesday, Saturday and Sundays at 1pm and evenings Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights at 7pm. Parimutuel wagering will be the betting option.
Everything is moving forward accordingly, and Benny is looking for sponsorships for the event.
In other news, they are looking at upgrading some of the cameras in the broadcast, which would be a nice welcome. Other than that, it’s “waiting for the planes to land”.
The Pelota Press will once again be there on Opening Night for coverage of the event.
Here is the latest PR release from the World Jai Alai League
MIAMI, Nov. 4, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — The World Jai-Alai League (WJAL) Battle Court Fall 2025 season is heating up as teams battle for playoff positioning in the second half of the season. With weeks left before the double-header playoff on Friday, Dec 5 (2 p.m. and 7 p.m.), the intensity on the court is reaching new heights, with every match playing a crucial role in the race to the top. The top four scoring teams will advance to the playoffs: Currently the top four spots are held by the Cyclones, Renegades, Warriors, and Fireballs with less than two points separating the entire WJAL from top to bottom. The two winning teams from the playoff will face off at the final on Friday, Dec. 12 (7 p.m.).
Cyclones player Jairo launches the ball to his opponent. Credit: World Jai-Alai League.
“This is the closest race for the playoffs in the eight-season history of the WJAL. You can feel the urgency in every point played,” said Scott Savin, chief operating officer of the World Jai-Alai League. “These athletes are stepping it up across the board, and the second half of the season promises to be even more thrilling than the first.”
At the mid-season mark, the Cyclones team has emerged as the dominant force, led by team captain Emmanuel Romain Laduche, known courtside as Manú, and team owners Chris Cote and Mike Ryan, longtime producers of the “Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz.” This is especially exciting as this could be the team’s most recent championship title since 2022. Meanwhile, reigning champions, the Renegades, and the Warriors are keeping the pressure on, with the Fireballs not far behind. As the season progresses, the Devils and the Chargers will look to turn the tide and make a late-season push toward playoff contention.
Battle Court matches are played at the Magic City Fronton in Miami on Tuesdays through Thursdays at 5 p.m. and on Fridays at 7 p.m. Friday matches are open to spectators and present the world’s fastest ball sport in an exciting, family-friendly setting. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Admission and self-parking are free.
Florida-based fans can also enjoy seamless wagering and live streaming via the Hard Rock Bet app. Fans unable to attend in person can follow the action live on the Jai-Alai Network (WJAL’s YouTube channel), ESPN3, FUBO TV, or Jai-Alai TV (www.jaialai.live).
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 international sports wagering market, and delivering the sport through social media to a new generation of fans across the globe. The WJAL plays at the Magic City Fronton in Miami, located at 450 N.W. 37th Ave.
I remember it like yesterday. It’s been almost 50 years ago. It was my first trip to Bridgeport Jai-alai on their grand opening night. Got off Exit 28 – a short drive from Greenfield Hills in Fairfield. Then a left and another left. I already had 3 years of experience going to Tampa, Orlando, Daytona, Miami, and Dania jai-alai.
I felt like I was the only one in there that knew the game. When I went up to the betting window, I was the only one there. It’s all on video and you can view it on this website under “History of Jai-alai”. I bet $2 on 1 to win. I was going to keep it no matter what – win or lose.
Earl “The Pearl” Monroe threw out the first pelota. I watched the NBA back then, and that guy was good. No one like him. What a thrill.
The first few games the crowd was quiet. By the end of the year, the place was packed with nearly 9,000 people filling the double deck fronton. The noise was deafening. And that crowd was rough. A dropped ball with someone losing out on a $1,000 plus trifecta and they would not be happy. The bets cost $3 on Trifecta’s, and the pools were huge. Always paid four figures – it seemed. Bridgeport was a dangerous city – perhaps the worst in the country. Bankruptcy would be later filed. The area was full of prostitutes and drug dealers. Parking inside their fenced area and you were safe. Outside was risky but on nights when you had to park on the streets, I never had an issue.
Over the years after jai-alai closed, it was a dog track (stupid) , and industrial operations and then most recently an off-track betting parlor. That shut down in 2021. The 16 plus acre site was recently appraised by Bridgeport at $4.7 million. In March of 2022, a limited liability corporation bought the property. They want to build a $1.1 Billion-dollar minor league soccer stadium on the site. Plans have been stalled over the past two years for a variety of reasons.
Sounds like a lot of money to me for a minor league soccer stadium in Connecticut largest city. But one thing is for sure, jai-alai will never return there.
Slot Machine Online Betting Now Operating in Florida
If you have the Hard Rock app and live in Florida, you may be one of the lucky ones (or shall we say unlucky ones) that now can bet all on which appears to be one of 21 slot machine games.
Quietly, the Hard Rock has expanded its sports betting under the term of “Powered by Past Motor Racing”. Yet, it looks and plays just like a slot machine.
This is a new form of “against the house” sports betting that the Seminole Tribe believes to be totally legal under the letter of the law in the 2021 gaming compact signed between the Seminole Tribe and the State of Florida.
The Tribe contents you are betting on past motor racing that is similar to the historical horse racing (HHR) concept – originally known as Instant Racing. Players bet on replays of horse races or dog races that already have been run using terminals that typically resemble slot machines. This unique type of betting premiered in Arkansas in 2000 and is used in several U.S. states.
When you launch one of the games and place a wager, the screen displays what appears to be a traditional slot interface: reels spinning with symbols like oranges, cherries, and similar icons. But beneath that slot-like image, something different is happening that – according to Hard Rock Bet – that makes this totally legal.
Each “spin” is determined by the results of one or more historical stock car races from several years ago. The random number generator that typically powers slot machines has been replaced with actual sporting outcomes that have already occurred.
“What you see on the screen are just entertaining depictions of what happens” a Hard Rock source was quoted.
Here’s how the mechanics of this conception work:
When you place a wager, you’re essentially betting on past racing results. If your selections — which correspond to racers from these historical events — finish in winning positions, you win. If they had longer odds, you win more. Hit a couple of first-place finishes from underdogs, and you might be looking at a jackpot.
If you want to see what is going on behind the scenes, try this: “Click to Enter Race View” button in the upper right corner of the screen. This will reveal the actual racing results that determined the outcome – the specific date, the race, which selections were correct, and how the historical results translated into your win or loss.
Also, according to the Hard Rock source “You can see kind of how it turned out, how many of your selections were correct.”
This whole thing sounds bizarre, but I believe it is available to a select group of the original Hard Rock app holders – those that maintained an account during the two-year hiatus when they were successfully shut down by Magic City Jai-alai. They don’t want their servers to crash on this initial release.
I don’t see anybody stopping them, either. Welcome to 24-hour a day slots – wherever you go.
I’ve heard from several people about getting limited or even being cut off from making Jai alai bets online. One person went to the extreme to get a response from the Hard Rock headquarters. Three separate responses were recently texted back after being cut off since Day 2 of Magic City’s latest season.
Here are those responses:
Thank you for bringing this to our attention! To help us investigate the error or limit you’re encountering on Jai Ali bets, could you please try entering the amount you wish to place? This will give us the details we need to look into the issue more thoroughly and escalate it to our team for further investigation. We appreciate your patience and are here to assist you every step of the way.
We apologize but these limits are being placed in line with Responsible Gaming regulations, and even we do not have the authority to go against it, and our hands are tied.
We are very sorry to inform you, and we wish we have better news, but it appears your wagering limits are correct. Please refer to our house rule below:
“1.2 Seminole Gaming may determine minimum and maximum wager amounts per patron on any events to include: all periods, segments, propositions, and future book wagers. Maximum wagers shall not exceed $10 million. Seminole Gaming typically sets the minimum wager at $.10 but reserves the right to change at its discretion. Maximum payout by sport and by market will be established herein.”
Yep, that’s their response. In other words, go F yourself!
Oh, so you think you can just walk into a casino in Hollywood or Tampa and make wagers? No way Jose. It ain’t happening.
October 29, 2025: A couple weeks ago, we showed you construction workers assembling the framing for the glass wall for the future home of Magic City. Today, the glass panels arrived at Miami Casino Jai alai. The glass panels – weighing 500 pounds each – were seen here with getting taking off the truck by three players – Benny, Ben and “my buddy” Roque – bringing them into the fronton.
Assembly will likely take a few days and then once that is completed, the next step will be to find the proper ball to play with on what will be a very unusual cancha. The side and front walls are same ones that were used for 95 years with full a full court and a goat skin pelota in use. The front wall is made from granite – one of the hardest of rocks on Earth. Now, a glass back will be added near the serving line area, giving the court a unique structure of two completely different materials.
We will keep you posted on as this project moves forward.
Jai-alai returns to the “Yankee Stadium” of Jai-alai – the original jai-alai fronton in Miami in the winter of 2026. But this time, it’s a bit different. It will be the Magic City version converted right into the original cancha. Instead of the normal 175 feet or so, the converted Magic city court will be about 130 feet long – with the back wall just before the serving line.
The frame is being built now as you can see in the photo, and it will be an all-glass version and go along with the normal front and side wall of traditional jai alai. The fronton will hit its 100th anniversary – an incredible milestone with jai-alai back in action!
It will be anxious to see how the new court will play – with the ball hitting 18” of granite and then hitting the new all glass back wall. A new ball is imperative that will play to that new court. How the ball will work is anybody’s guess. As we all know, the ball is everything. The hard obstacle is finding a ball that will not break the glass, which has been a hinderance on other glass courts.
We will keep you posted on the wall as it progresses, as well as the fronton itself. Outside the court all hundreds of slot machines, a band stage, poker room and a pizza shop,, all recently remodeled.
Check out Mo Crank’s Magic City Stats on SayHiLi. com website
October 24, 2025: Be sure to check out Mo Crank’s Stat-Pack which is on his home page of the SayHiLi.com website.
His research is second to none, giving you the most complete betting information from his statistics at you could imagine. The fixed odds sports betting is exciting, fast paced and often comes down to the last point in the 3rd match. You can view the odds latest Stat-Pack below also, but be sure to check out the website that he acquired from Straymar.
He also has the Dania Beach Invitational Roster for this year, and even has the log of what years all of the players that have played since the inception in 2022.
Scott King/Sunshine City 3rd Annual Tournament January 31st– February 1st
Scott King and his Sunshine City group are hosting their 3rd annual jai-alai tournament January 31st and February 1st. That may sound like it’s a long way away, but it’s not. Now is this time to make sure you plan on attending or playing in it. The event is clearly the best event held yearly with a lot of great players attending from all over – Connecticut, N Miami, Tampa Bay/Orlando and even Spain/Magic City players. Scott knows just about everyone in jai-alai and has the connections to assemble a great group. He played pro for nearly15 years (mainly at Tampa Jai-alai) and has been an active player at Puryear for the past 13 years or so.
For full details go to this link to sign up or donate.
October 21, 2025: Out of curiosity, I went on to AI (Artificial Intelligence) to see what they say about the future of jai alai. It’s an interesting read but seems to mirror what Magic City is attempting to do now.
In an interview with Zulaica last January, Scott Savin mentioned expanding to different cities – the Battle Court Team version. That is clearly a way to make the sport succeed. It also said anyone under 40 has never heard of jai alai. That must change. AI also said jai alai will always be a niche sport but that there was room for success in the sport long term.
The Current State of JaiAlai
Here’s a summary of where jai alai stands today, which will help us assess its future prospects.
Key facts
The professional U.S. league World Jai‑Alai League (WJAL) currently operates a modified format called “Battle Court” in Miami, Florida. PR Newswire+2Sports Destination Management+2
The league has partnered with major betting/streaming platforms: for instance, Hard Rock Bet (Florida’s legal sportsbook) carries matches and wagering options for jai alai. PR Newswire+2gamingamericas.com+2
Technology and data‑feed partners are being brought in to make matches more engaging (live streaming, low‑latency data, etc.). gamingamericas.com+1
At the same time, the league is facing structural challenges. For example, there are reports that its lease at its longtime venue (Magic City Fronton) is ending, and relocation is being considered. Axios+1
Strengths
The sport has a distinct identity (“the world’s fastest ball sport”), which is eye‑catching and can be a marketing hook.
There’s niche appeal and some momentum around modernization (formats, streaming, social media) which could attract younger or more digitally‑native fans.
Gambling/wagering partnerships provide a revenue stream (or at least a potential one) that traditional sporting models might struggle to tap as effectively.
Weaknesses / Challenges
Jai alai’s mainstream popularity in the U.S. has declined significantly compared to its mid‑20th‑century heyday. Many former frontons have closed. Reddit+1
Infrastructure is limited: few venues, limited geographic spread, and so far concentrated in one region (South Florida).
The business model appears fragile: dependent on venue leases, wagering regulatory frameworks, and appealing to enough fans (both live and remote) to make things financially sustainable.
A legacy perception problem: for many, jai alai is a “nostalgic” sport rather than a fresh mainstream entertainment option.
The Future: What Could Happen
Based on the current state above, here are scenarios + key factors for jai alai’s future.
Possible Scenarios
Moderate Revival + Niche Growth
The league solidifies its format (e.g., Battle Court), increases streaming/remote access, leverages wagering, and becomes a stable (if not massive) niche sport.
Expansion might be modest: perhaps more venues, occasional international matches or exhibitions, but not mass‑mainstream.
Fan engagement might focus online, social media, young audiences with novelty appeal.
Broader Expansion
Jai alai could break through into more mainstream sports entertainment: more teams, more venues across U.S./internationally, major broadcast deals, etc.
This would require significant investment, marketing, format innovation, and perhaps ties to bigger sporting/leisure ecosystems.
The gambling/streaming model would likely remain a key part of the revenue mix.
Contraction / Localization
If revenue fails to scale (venue costs, broadcasting/streaming costs, player salaries, marketing), the sport might retreat and become highly localized (e.g., a regional entertainment offering) or niche hobby rather than a professional growth sport.
This could include fewer frontons, fewer matches, relying heavily on wagering income and less on broad fan appeal.
Key Factors That Will Determine Which Way It Goes
Venue & Lease Stability: As noted, the Miami venue lease issue is looming. If the league loses its home base without a strong replacement, this could hamper momentum. Axios
Regulation & Wagering Frameworks: Since much of the business model depends on betting/wagering, changes in regulation or weaknesses in the wagering product could make or break viability.
Streaming/Broadcast Reach: The ability to reach fans beyond those physically attending will be crucial. Partnerships with broadcasters, streaming platforms, and marketing will matter. For example, an earlier deal with ESPN expanded reach. PR Newswire
Format Appeal & Innovation: The sport must appeal to modern audiences — shorter formats, flashy presentation, interactive elements, possibly global leagues or tournaments. The shift to Glass‑walled frontons, and new formats such as “Battle Court,” are signs of this. PR Newswire+1
Cost Control & Financial Sustainability: Athlete salaries, venue operations, marketing, broadcast/streaming costs — all need to be managed. If costs outrun revenue, growth will stall.
Geographic Expansion / Diversification: If the sport remains too concentrated in one region, growth will be limited. Expansion to other states or countries could open up new markets.
Fan Base Growth: At the end of the day, fan interest (attendance, viewership, social engagement) must grow. Without that, the sport may stay niche.
Cultural Relevance & Branding: The sport needs to be able to brand itself effectively — for example, emphasizing the speed, novelty, heritage, and showing excitement to younger viewers.
My Best Guess
Given what I see, I lean toward the “Moderate Revival + Niche Growth” scenario as the most likely over the next 5–10 years. In other words:
Jai alai will survive (in the U.S., perhaps mostly in Florida) and perhaps stabilize.
It may gain somewhat wider streaming / digital audience thanks to betting/streaming synergy.
But I don’t expect a massive explosion into the mainstream like major team‑sports leagues (e.g., NBA, NFL) anytime soon.
If venue/lease issues, regulatory changes, or costs become problematic, then contraction becomes more likely.
Considerations for Stakeholders
For Fans: If you’re interested in jai alai, this is a good time to engage — streaming options, novelty formats, and perhaps good value for experiencing something different.
For Investors or Operators: Focus early on digital/streaming reach, unique formats, venue cost control, and build community/fan engagement rather than purely venue attendance.
For Players and Athletes: Stability will matter — if the league can offer consistent seasons, broadcast exposure, decent compensation, then it may attract talent; otherwise it might remain a bit volatile.
For Local Economies/Venues: Frontons might serve as more than just sports venues — possibly entertainment hubs (live events, music, mixed uses) to diversify revenue.
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