In case you haven’t already heard, Magic City Jai-alai has added another equity owner. But this one is well known. Famed rapper and Grammy Award-wining artist, Pitbull now has an equity ownership role in the World Jai-alai Leage. The Miami born legend has sold over 100 million records and will now have involvement in all aspects of the league and will be adding his creativity and entrepreneurial skills, according to the World Jai-alai League.
Other noted ambassadors and investors involved in Magic City include NBA star Udonis Haslem, NFL Hall of Fame’s Ray Lewis, retired UFC fighter Jorge Masvidal, 2016 Olympic Gold Medalist Monica Puig and profession tennis player Eugene Bouchard.
Magic City Jai-alai now has 335,000 followers on TikTok and nearly 80,000 on Instagram. TikTok also has game days averaging over 100K unique views alone.
DraftKings and BetRivers currently offer betting odds on matches in 14 states, Ontario and Mexico in addition to parimutuel wagering.
Over the years, there has been talk about America’s first amateur jai-alai court, Orbea’s Amateur Fronton in Miami, Florida – which opened in the 1970s. It seems like nobody has any photos, videos or “mementos” of the place that was packed with four playing courts and lots of people smoking cigars having a good old time.
That is not the case anymore.
One of our amateur players at the St. Pete cancha, “Chip” Sutton, has changed that statement dramatically. The infamous “Chip”, brother of national champion “Ant” Anthony Sutton, has stumbled into a one-in-billion find.
He and his wife Angela had just bought a house in Tampa, just off Lois Avenue. The house had the single owner since it was built well over 60 years ago and was moving out. Out in the back yard was a large pool shed that was full of junk. Chips daughter was out there going through it all and came across some unique items. One was a 1999 Spring Training Program for the New York Yankees, who train in Tampa – just up the road from the house. Right under that was a thick 27-page booklet.
It was a copy of the original blueprint drawings of Orbea’s Amateur Fronton. Unbelievable. What are the odds of that? On top of it, that house is about 280 miles from where the court was built, too!
The rare find was on display for visitor’s last Saturday at the party honoring Chips brother and Rastock for their wins at Magic City, not far away from where the amateur court was located.
How many amateur courts have been built since then? Not many.
Two “regulars” from the Puryear Park Cancha were honored at an event held Saturday night at the JLaca Museum in Seminole Florida.
A lively crowd of about 35 greeted the national winners from the recent Magic City Tournament held in Miami. Several people made drives of up to 4 hours each way to attend the party and celebrate with the winners.
A replay of the Masters tournament was played on a large screen in a nearby room next to the museum, which also included live poker and blackjack action during much of the 6-hour event.
Anthony Sutton, for some reason now known as the “Ant”, won the Singles Tournament while veteran player Rastock took the doubles championship along with Conrado as his teammate. Their $1,000 huge checks were on display outside the museum entrance and will be placed in the museum when room is found.
Museum Damage
The museum suffered its first damage in its 9-year history. My wife was pointing at a couple of the bobbleheads (donated a long time ago by Dave Lemmon and Benny Bueno) that sit up above a custom-made opening over 6 feet high above the ground when she inadvertently knocked two of them over to the other side of the wall where they came crashing down. Two of the bobbleheads went flying off the narrow shelf. One of them, Daniel, suffered serious neck injuries, while Irastorza suffered unrepairable damage as he broke into multiple pieces. Rastock said he will donate a replacement for that bobblehead. The Daniel bobblehead hopefully can be repaired, but there are backups in the museum, just in case. The Pelota Press tried to reach out to the “real” Daniel that night but was unable to.
Next Event
The next event in the museum coming up will honor the great Elorri of Orlando Jai-alai for his long dedication to the sport.
Matt DiDomizio has scheduled a new Fall 2023 tournament, and everyone is welcome to sign up. The weather is usually gorgeous that time of year, and the foliage change at its peak.
Here are the details of the event:
Friday, October 13th – Spectacular “9” Citrus Style – Singles and Doubles Tournament
Saturday + Sunday October 14-15th – Quinella Style/ Mixed Doubles – “A” and “B” Groups – with the Finals on Sunday
Also on Sunday, possibly some Partido matches
Some strict rules will be enforced this time.
White Pants must be worn, or you will not play!
Fees—
Friday only $50 – includes jersey/ T shirt and Awards
Saturday/Sunday only $75 – includes jersey/T shirt and Awards
Friday/Saturday/Sunday $100 includes Jersey/T shirt and Awards
Must be signed up and paid by Friday October 6th.
The Pelota Press is donating several jai-alai player figurines for the tournament since the Seminole Florida jai-alai court was never built as the contractor (Mike Kelly of Point West Construction) kept all the money that was paid ($50,000) and didn’t do a thing after the 7-year battle to get a permit was approved by Pinellas County.
Contact Matt directly or you can reach out to me directly if interested in playing.
Usually, there is open play on Thursday afternoon/evening and Friday afternoon for the out of towners to practice on top of the regular tournament hours and is included in the fees.
This is the best amateur court in America and looking for a great turnout!
Magic City Jai-alai just completed its 4th Annual USNJAC Event this past weekend. Several amateurs, ex-pros and current pros all participated in the 3-day event in sunny, hot Miami Florida over a 3-day weekend festivities.
We have all the complete results and scores as compiled by Straymar of Say HiLi.com.
Puryear Parks star player Anthony Sutton, for some reason named the “Ant”, took home 1st Place in the Master’s Division, beating “Poppa” Douglas I, 7-2 on Sunday afternoon to take home the $1,000 prize.
In the Master Doubles division, the team of Rastock and Conrado beat DeCarlo and Lasa 7-5 to take home the $1,000 prize. Rastock is now a regular at the Puryear Park cancha, while DeCarlo and Lasa play a lot in Berlin Connecticut at Matt’s place.
This was the first time Connecticut amateur court owner Matt DiDomizio didn’t come home with a check from playing jai-alai, but he did come home with an extra $550 from winning at the slot machines, just feet away from the cancha.
The pro event on Saturday featured some great jai-alai action. The speed of that ball is hard to tell on TV vs being live, and I can tell you that ball was moving fast. Especially Goixerri, who beat Manu 9-7 in a thriller to collect first place money of $7,500 on Sunday afternoon. He also won the doubles championship with Aratz, for another cool $10,000! Not a bad day, to say the least.
We were also impressed with the play of “Alex” , DeCarlo, Tino, Joe P (Petco), and the man behind Jai-alai sports betting – Ari.
This year, players were allowed to practice for at least a two-hour session on Thursday. Players in the past had complained about the lack of practice time to get used to the court, which is quite different than any other. This practice session made a huge different in play the next day. A very large group from Matt’s Court in Connecticut made the long trip to play also.
Attendance was by far the biggest crowds the event has had. I liked the revised layout of the seating, and the chairs were comfortable. The only gripe we heard from players and spectators was the start times of the events, with 3 different times given out at the last moment for Saturdays start time. Nobody had an idea what time it started on Friday when arriving on Thursday. This information should be posted for everybody to know in advance. We also heard from several people that were confused as where to watch it at. Magic City’s website page on the event never changed at all and even included incorrect information on who won last years event. Information on where to watch it should be posted on the home page along with the hours. Otherwise, the overall event, broadcast like production and announcing should be commended.
Jai-alai will continue at the Magic City Casino at least thru 2025 and it appears there will be an event next year. Special kudos to Scott Savin for putting on the event again and all the hospitality.
The Pelota Press will be there the entire event. Action starts Friday morning and goes on all weekend. Details on results with photos coming next Monday. Fans are welcome to attend or watch live on the Ja-alai Channel!
2023 U.S. NATIONAL JAI-ALAI CHAMPIONSHIP
The U.S. National Jai-Alai Championship brings the focus of an international sport to the Magic City of Miami, Florida. U.S. bred athletes take the court to fight it out in an epic battle of skill, speed and athletic prowess to dominate The World’s Fastest Game – Jai-Alai.
August 11 – 13
· Friday 10am
· Saturday 12pm
· Sunday 1pm
Open to the public – Friends and Family are welcome to attend!
2022 WINNERS
Singles Champion JAIRO Jairo Baroja
Doubles Champions ARRIETA & GOITIA Inigo Gorostola & Inaki Goitiandia
RULES & REQUIREMENTS
All players must be United States citizens [Photocopy of Passport or Birth Certificate required with Entry Form].
Players must be at least 18 years old.
Players must sign a liability waiver and image release form.
Players must wear an approved helmet.
Video required with Entry Form if player is not known to the Selection Committee.
The Selection Committee has final determination of entrants should the Championship entries exceed the available playing slots.
Practice time will be available.
There will be a 1-minute warm-up before each match.
TOURNAMENT FORMAT & PRIZES
MASTERS DIVISION
August 11 & 13
Open to amateurs and former professionals who have not played professionally since January 1, 2019 and professionals who are age 50 or older
Amateurs Singles and Doubles Prize Money
1st Place: $1,000
2nd Place: $500
Limited to 32 Singles entries Limited to 14 Doubles teams All matches played to 6 points Finals played to 7 points There will be a Playback bracket in Doubles only
PROFESSIONAL TOURNAMENT
August 12 & 13
Open to current professional players and former professional players who have played professionally since January 1, 2019 and professionals who are under age 50
Professionals Singles Prize Money
1st Place: $7,500
2nd Place: $2,500
Professionals Doubles Prize Money
1st Place: $10,000
2nd Place: $5,000
Limited to 24 Singles entries Limited to 16 Doubles teams All matches played to 7 points Finals played to 9 points
Check out this new Jai-alai arcade game that has been just released and watch the YOUTUBE video of it in action! Awesome stuff. They are about $6,000 if any one is interested in one. (The YOUTUBE videos are in the article after you click the picture of the machines)
Special thanks to Anthony “Ant” Sutton for finding this.
As Dania Casino and Jai-alai is quietly putting together its lineup for the ‘23-’24 Tournament, we do know that the owners were quite happy with results of the past two-month “season”.
Coming very close to breaking even, the new format gave jai-alai fans a whole new group of players to watch and wager on – and in prime time. Breaking even might have even made a profit if you consider revenue from food and beverage, and the scroll over to the slot machines for a little action. Compare this to the losing well over a million dollars a year with the year-round format.
Next season looks promising – with jai-alai starting on December and running an extra month – thru February.
But he most encouraging news appears to be their booming cardroom business. Yes, the poker room is “killing it” as reported by Dania management. The net revenue from their poker room has exploded recently, with the numbers up 58% from last year at this time. June’s net revenue receipts were nearly one-half a million – $485,399. This is up 139% from 2021, which was partially impacted by COVID-19. Their slot numbers are better than they had been but are still far short of Magic City and Pompano’s numbers. But being the closest gambling facility to the Hard Rock – just 15 minutes away – will always be an obstacle. This is where jai-alai gives them something “they” don’t have.
What we really need is another tournament held in the middle of the summer – say mid-June to mid-August – to fill in the long gap of not having goat skin, primetime jai-alai. Not everybody can make it down to South Florida in December/January with the holidays going on and super expensive hotel rooms that time of the year.
How ‘bout it Dania?? We think it could turn a profit next time. And keep jai-alai alive.
Special thanks to Tiger for the continued posting of the State of Florida gaming numbers.
Puryear Park in St. Petersburg is home to America’s First and only Public jai-alai court and has no shortage of players looking to play on it. Even if it means a three-hour drive each way.
Yes sir, a three-hour drive (each way) from Daytona Beach is what former Bridgeport star player Adam Albrycht (pronounced “All-Brite”) commutes on a regular basis. And he is not the only one. Joining him on a regular basis also includes another former Bridgeport jai-alai player, Steve “Rastock” Rastocky; former Newport pro Ty Wilson; and amateur Eric Auman; all whom live in the Orlando area – about 2 hours away (sometimes much more with traffic). Former pro Gary “Cachin” Doyle makes a two hour plus drive from Spring Hill; top notch amateur Anthony “Ant” Sutton also makes near two-hour drive from Spring Hill also and are regulars at the cancha. Bill O’Connor, another long time amateur was also making a three-hour drive to play, while Alex “Amigo” Ruiz makes about an hour and a half drive from Davenport on a regular basis but does stay in town for a few days to make the most of his trip while looking out for his mother.
Recently in a 15-hour period, last Thursday night, the St. Pete cancha was host to our only female player – Morgan , a former top female collegiate soccer player who graduated a couple years ago and is now a teacher, and her father Greg “Echeva” Kathan, a co-founder with Paul Kubala of the original Puryear park jai-alai from the late 1980s. She can certainly hang in there with the big guys and loves her time out there on the court. The following morning, about 12 players were out there including the above mentioned “Long Distance Travelers”.
Talk about some dedicated players, often making a drive longer than they can play out there in the summer heat!
Pull out the tissues. It appears that Calder Jai-alai is history.
One of the players that has been on its roster in its short “2-3 history”, “Rastock”, informed everyone at the St. Pete Cancha that Calder Jai-alai appears to be over with.
Speculation had built that the former horse track would be forced to run a 40-performance season to maintain its casino license.
Calder had a 50-year run as a horse track before gaining approval to run jai-alai instead of the more expensive horse racing in 2018. The horse racing industry tried to halt the change, but a Florida appellate court sided with Calder Casino stating that ‘Contrary to the appellants’ arguments, nothing….requires a facility to continue to same form of pari-mutual wagering activity that originally qualified it for a slot machine license, nor does this statue tie an ‘eligible facility’ to the same type of racing or gaming as it had when the constitutional amendment was approved, the judges’ opinion stated.
On May 22, 2019, Calder Jai-alai opened in a newly built “fronton”, just feet from the main casino and facing the torn out grandstand that once held thousands of people. Over 600 people attended that opening performance. By the second day, about 50 were in attendance, and after that it was pretty much a ghost town. The court was 111 feet long with an awkward serving area. The roster included the hiring of the first female jai-alai player in the world – Becky Smith.
Last year, Magic City Casino successfully sued a gambling package worked out by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis with the Seminole Tribe to offer exclusive mobile sports betting and other casino enhancements. The package included the decoupling of jai-alai. After 40 days, a judge halted the entire package and sports betting was immediately stopped while leaving the jai-alai industry in flux. The Tribe has appealed the decision, and a split decision is very possible from a 3-judge panel that has been reviewing the case for about a year now.
Somehow, an exemption was approved, thus allowing Calder Casino to continue operating its slot machines without having to run any live jai-alai games. The savings on this would likely be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
It is unknown what will happen to the building, but whatever the plans are, it was fully designed to operate for something other than jai-alai.