Archive for category: Jeff ‘Laca’ Conway Blogs

Carballo, Lopez, Olharan out at Magic City, RonRon Returns   

As reported by Say HiLi a few days ago, there has been a few major changes at the Magic City Fronton for the season that starts Friday, September 6^th . 

Carballo, one of the original Magic City players who learned jai-alai from “scratch” in 2018 after a brief minor league baseball career, will not be returning.  Perhaps the most successful player to make the transition to a sport they never knew about, Carballo one of those that received a letter in the mail from Scott Savin about becoming a professional jai-alai player.

Carballo hasn’t fully recovered from a major knee injury he suffered.  He is leaving to devote his career as a financial adviser, which he is partner within a firm.  We wish him the best of luck and he had a great career – he threw hard and could complete with anybody.  He was one of those guys you never could leave off your betting ticket.    

Two of the world’s best players – Lopex and our buddy Olharan will not be returning.  We were unable to reach Olharan and his buddy Danny for comment.   

However, RonRon, who played from October 17, 2019 to November 23, 2022 is returning to play at Miami’s Magic City jai-alai.  The family had moved to California two years ago, but he is coming back to play in the Battle Court games, while the family remains out west.  RonRon is a true pro, and we are excited he is coming back. Let’s hope he has fully recovered from that serious injury he suffered about 3 years ago.  The competition is a bit tougher now that it was a few years ago, but we are confident RonRon can compete.      

Hormaetxea will also be playing on the roster also.  He did play in recent years for the World Super Court tournament at Magic City.  Hormaetxea did play as recently as May of 2021 at Dania and has been known as of the top players in the world. 

Alex Goitia will be playing – yes – the one from Miamai and Dania Jai-alai – and he will be competing with his brothers Anaki and Julen at Magic City.  Three brothers on the same roster!  Last time I remember that was when the three Alou brothers all played in same outfield for the SF Giants in a MLB game back in the 60s.      

The season runs September 2- December 13.

Don’t forget the USNJAC on August 30 and September 1^st and World Super Court is August 31 and September 1.  The Pelota Press will be there the entire time covering the event.  

After checking the monthly stats of the south Florida casino that Tiger posts monthly, one couldn’t help but notice that Dania’s casino numbers are growing at a phenomenal rate.  When I mean casino numbers, I’m talking about their slot machine net revenue and cardroom gross receipt numbers, which likely is well over 90% of their total revenue.  This is not counting food and beverage sales, jai-alai revenue from the 3 months of action, and the occasional concert/comedy show upstairs.     

The backbone is slot machines, of course, and now that number has suddenly spiked 25% in April of 2024.  Without confirmation, I believe that was their record month EVER –  in net slot revenue, which reached $4,754,273 in Aoril.  They have passed Big Easy (formally Mardi Gras) and are closing the gap within nearby Gulfstream’s numbers.  That relates to $230 a machine in net revenue, a far cry better than the $70s and $80s I believe they were in during the first few years in operation. 

Why the sudden increase?  Twenty-five percent is a lot for any business, especially in the competitive gambling business in South Florida and being the closest facility to the Number One competitor – The Hard Rock Casino.  Did they increase their marketing?  Give away free cars every day?   Why the sudden spike? 

There are a couple of reasons for the sudden surge.  The slot machine increase is likely from the new selection of high-end slot machines they recently added and appear to be quite popular with customers.  Having a smoke free casino is a huge bonus, too.  Even though the Hard Rock does about as good as a job you can in removing it, the smoke in the Tribe casinos is annoying.

The poker room numbers are way up because the new manager in charge is really good at what he does.  And the General Manager of the operation loves poker and he’s a player.   It always starts at the top, and yes, Brian Cashman, that means you too.     

What about jai-alai?

They have been figuring out a way to extend the season from the current 3-month tournament season into a five- or six-month event.  But unfortunately, at this time, that would create a problem with getting players because most of these guys can’t leave and be here that long.  Plus, I am sure there are visa issues.  Regardless, it is too late for this year of course (schedules are set a yar in advance with the state) , but Dania is talking about extending in the future.   

What about additional improvements? 

Theres a lot of property sitting there.  What about a large hotel and a nice restaurant adjacent to the fronton/casino?  Dania is right there with the Ft. Lauderdale airport and one of the largest cruise ship ports in the world.  Millions of tourist are there every year and a nice big hotel would have now problem staying full at high rates, especially in the winter/early springtime.  Ever try getting a hotel room in the area? They are usually full or expensive as hell.   

Anywho, we still have jai-alai going three months when we all thought it was dead.

Florida Sports Betting Lawsuit by Magic City Jai-alai Turned Down by U.S. Supreme Court

If you’re a sports fan that enjoys making sports bets legally in the state of Florida, you can relax – for now.  This is the highest court in America, and West Flagler Associates just took a punch to the gut.  The United States Supreme Court has refused to upend a 30-year deal giving the tribe total control of sports betting in the state of Florida.  America’s highest court did not give a reason for their decision – as they rarely do so – in an eleven (11) page opinion.

This is a huge decision against the company that owns three jai-alai licenses and the Bonita-Fort Myers gambling facility that was once a dog track like Flagler had in Miami.  The case dates to 2021 when the Hard Rock had been offering sprots betting for about a month, when a federal district judge halted it.  For two years, sports betting had been halted by Flagler Associates until the appeal process unfolded and sports betting has been active since late last year.      

There are other options available for them to halt the next 30 years of exclusive rights going the Hard Rock and on your mobile phone.  This is in addition to have the rights to slot machines (outside the two south Florida counties), blackjack, roulette, and craps.          

The jai-alai operator could file a state challenge in circuit court and other federal legal avenues, all which would likely take several years to pan out, and millions of more dollars in attorney fees.

The big news about this decision by the US Supreme Court could open the pathway to online gambling – such as slot machines, blackjack, craps, and roulette.  Expect that to happen by 2026.         

The latest scoop on Dania Casino and Jai-alai

America’s only remaining goatskin pelota and granite front wall fronton, with a 3-month “tournament like” season, has been pleased with the results from the past two seasons. 

The 22-man roster, mainly composed of young players from the Basque region, has fielded the roster for the past two seasons.  The next tournament will begin a tad earlier this year – Friday, November 29^th.  Yes, this is the day after Thanksgiving, and will give the fronton an extra weekend to draw from the many tourists and locals who are enjoying the long weekend holiday.  Normally, Dania would open on sometime during the first week of December.  Players will have till June 30^th to commit to playing the season.  The season will run till Sunday, February 23rd

There has been some remodeling and shuffling around of the slot machines in the casino, with a smoking section getting added in an indoor/outdoor setting.  The high rollers room is being relocated in the back room and has undergone extensive renovations.  Dania is even bringing downstairs some of the card games, which in the past has been exclusively upstairs. I like that idea and think it will help. 

As far as the slot machine numbers go, Dania’s numbers lately appear to be the highest they have even been.  In March of 2024, the state’s reported numbers say they did $4,812,224 in net revenue.  This was a 7% increase from last year’s numbers.  The other jai-alai operator, Magic City (different owners now on the casino side), had a robust gain of 14% and did $12,134,094, just a million below the perennial leader – The Isle of Pompano.  Both Magic City and Pompano are a good 45–60-minute drive away from The Hard Rock Casino, while Dania is only about 15 minutes away, and the closest of all the old pari-mutuals. 

Getting back to Dania’s jai-alai operation, here is the last seasons pari-mutuel numbers, month by month:

December 2023      48% live handle     $609,963

January       2024      40% live handle     $640,299

February     2024     44% live handle      $537,269

Special thanks to Tiger for posting this information monthly on his site.

You may be asking why did we post the live handle numbers?  Because on bets made at the fronton, the house keeps about an average of 25% of the handle.  All other bets, such as Watch and Wager, the payback is very little going back to the establishment.  I believe it is 4% with Dania that they receive, barely enough to wipe your ass with. 

Benny does operate under a strict budget with Dania and the numbers come very close to breaking even.  Added benefits of additional people in the casino and the food establishments are a bonus.    

Be sure to make plans to watch Dania Jai-alai later this year!

How to Save Jai-alai Immediately

I know of a way to instantly save the sport of jai alai.  During its heydays of the 1970 and 1980s, fans packed the frontons in Florida, Connecticut, and Rhode Island.  It was one of the few places to place a bet of any sort outside of Nevada and Atlantic City.  This was also a time before the lottery was even available – outside of the good old-fashioned scratch-offs.  Millions flocked to the sport because of the gambling aspect.  Even Ralph “Tiger” Butts himself will tell you he’s one of them.  But increased betting options topped off by a three-year strike of many of the star players all but killed it.  More entertainment options became available, and the aging frontons were not getting any upgrades.  The quarter poker games didn’t cut it either. 

Today, Magic City is trying its best to reach out to the badly needed younger generation and are doing an excellent job.  Benny has kept jai-alai alive for 3 months a year in Dania with the only traditional jai-alai in America with the granite walls and goat skin pelotas.    

How could jai-alai be saved immediately without the infusion of billions of dollars?

I have the solution.  And it’s up to El Barba, aka Denis Dalton.  Or another jai-alai player on the Magic City roster.

Why El Barba?  What could he possibly do outside of winning the biggest lottery ever in the world at saving jai-alai?

He could meet Taylor Swift and make her fall in love with him, and then dump Travis Kelce.

How could he meet her?  Simple.  He’s also been an Uber driver, outside of a professional jai-alai player.  And a LUX-UR-Y one too.  And I’m sure Taylor Swift has made a few trips to Miami over the years.  This must happen soon, as the word of a possible marriage of Taylor Swift to the star Super Bowl champion is coming soon.              

Look what Taylor Swift has done for the NFL, as if it even needed it.  The sport has added millions of female football fans.  With over 520 million followers on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok, her appeal is mind-boggling. 

Jai-alai would get so much attention with the El Barba connection, the sport would take off instantly – and nationally – where sports betting would be there to handle the bets.  Imagine, Taylor Swift sitting at the Magic City fronton and the worldwide interest that would generate.

It’s up to you El Barba.  Get er’ done.