Dania’s has released its 22-player roster last week, as the three-month season (or shall we say “Tournament”) starts a little bit earlier this year on Friday, November 29th.
By looking at Say Hi Li’s/Mo Crank’s story, it appears that there will be 7 new players making their debut, while 9 others are making their 3rd straight season in the new format.
The reason for the earlier opening is to take advantage of the holiday weekend – as November 29th is the day after Thanksgiving and there are a lot of tourists in town.
Special thanks to Mo Crank for coming up with that great chart.
Benny Bueno Picks up $10K Batch of Pelota’s & Makes Cancha Visit
Dana’s Jai-alai director of operations made a two-day visit to the Tampa Bay area yesterday that included a St. Pete cancha visit and a baseball game.
Benny Bueno made the trip to pick up a big box of pelota’s which are made in Tampa for use of this season that starts later this fall. The 100 goat skin balls he got will handle Dania’s fronton for the 3 month meet. At $100 apiece, they appear to be a good price, as that is the cost of a pelota we have seen mentioned over the decades. By contrast, the cost of a cesta has skyrocketed.
Accompanying Benny on the trip were his son Chris, currently on the Magic City roster, and his grandson Chris Jr., aka “CJ”.
After their stop in Tampa to pick up the pelota’s. they checked into a hotel room near the St. Pete Cancha and then headed over to the court for some action. Oddly, this is the only place Benny has strapped on a cesta over the past 2-3 years. He tried desperately to get a cancha built in the Miami area like the St. Pete one, but to no avail. The cover image on our website and Facebook site, taken by Alex, has Benny and Chris on it when they were here last time.
Benny and Chris didn’t last too long out in the heat. It was brutal, but after all, it was 2pm when rarely you find anyone outside at that hour playing jai-alai, tennis, soccer, lacrosse as you normally do during other hours at Puryear Park. Joining them in play was Seminole King, Alex, Mark Butler, and myself.
After that, the Bueno’s, Alex, and I showered and then headed to Tropicana Field to take on the Rays/Marlins game. The Bueno’s are huge Marlin fans, and we all were able to watch the game beside the Rays dugout along with 18,000 others. Ironically, while we were finishing up playing earlier, the Pinellas County commissioners approved the new stadium to replace Tropicana Field and be ready for the 2028 season along with 86 acres of an entertainment venue, restaurants, bars, hotels, a museum, housing, offices, and an amphitheater – all for $ 6.5 Billion.
One of the videos shown with this story is of Benny when he made a spectacular one-handed catch at a Marlins game several years ago when he was holding his grandson at the same time. The catch even made ESPN’s play of the day that evening. Now Chris, Jr. is 12 years old and is a baseball encyclopedia of knowledge. Last night he was wearing a Jazz Chisholm, Jr. shirt, a former Marlin star now lighting it up for the Yankees the past 3 days. Making matters worse for him, the Rays clobbered the Marlins.
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 6th .
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 1st and World Super Court is August 31 and September 1. The Pelota Press will be there the entire time covering the event.
Tampa Brewed Jai-alai Beer is getting a new makeover.
The Monster Beverage Corporation announced that Cigar City Brewing’s Jai-alai Beer is getting a major facelift.
As you can see, the word “Jai alai” is much brighter and larger than before and will be used on all their 12, 16, 19.2 oz. cans, and 6 and 12-pack cartons. The original cans a bottles had smaller wording, and images of a jai-alai cesta on the can. It is not known if that is the case here.
The popular IPA beer, started by Joey Redner (and son of the owner of world-famous Mons Venus), in 2007 is an India Pal Ale beer with 7.5% ABV and is widely available in 37 states in the USA and across the world. Iin 2022, Monster Beverage, owners of Monster Energy, a $7.1 billion a year corporation now owns it; however, Joey remains in charge of the operations. They sell 170,000 barrels a year.
The new look cans will be out sometime this summer.
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.
Rastock Win Streak Halted at 87, Then Injuries Arm
Talk about streaks. Then talk about bad luck.
Joe DiMaggio’s famous number was 56. Rastock’s number is 87. Both records will never be broken.
We all know that “Joltin” Joe DiMaggio, the famous New York Yankee baseball star, once married to Maryln Monroe, hit in 56 consecutive games.
Over the past couple of months, former pro Rastock, who once played on the same roster with Bolivar at Bridgeport Jai-alai, has been making the drive from Orlando to St. Pete to play on America’s first and only public court on a regular basis – as often as 3-4 times a week. And he has been accumulating a lot of wins. A LOT. In fact, he had wrapped up 87 straight wins while playing in the “Chopped Liver League”, a group of about 30 players with mostly amateur experience. The fact that he won 87 straight games is quite remarkable – considering 3, 4, 5, or 6 post games and dependent on his partner – either a front or backcourter.
That came to an end Tuesday night when Rastock and Alex lost on game point at 14-14 to a team of Seminole King and Rick B. The other two teams in the game had a few less points. This was a shocking end to his 87-game winning streak.
Now talk about bad luck.
On the first point of the next game, he injured his right arm – inside of the elbow below the bicep but continued to play. He won that game and then played another game, winning that one too before announcing he could not continue. The pain was getting worse.
Right now, he is hooked up to a device called TENS – an electro therapy device as shown in the photo. I had never heard of it before, thinking it might be snake oil, but I looked it up on Amazon to see what it is all about. With nearly 100,000 reviews from one seller and a 4.6 rating, I looked no further. Perhaps this will help him.
Right now, the NJAA has him listed as day to day and will take the next 3-4 days off. With the 4th of July tomorrow, he may have caught a good time to sit out.
We shall see. Good luck Rastock. Remember, you have 2 wins in a row when you return!
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.
I just got a very nice donation from Gary Morton – aka “Bennett” on Tigers site.
As you can see, it is the Tampa Jai-alai Silver Anniversary Commemorative Coin Collection that was given out to fans in 1978 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Tampa Jai-alai.
The set features 8 coins of players from the roster back then.
Bolivar – Triple Crown Winner 1977
Echeva – Rookie of the Year 1975
Almorza – All time winner at Tampa
Aramayo – Ocala Overall Champion – 1977
Gorrono – Tournament of Champions Winner- 1976
Irigo – Backcourt Champion – 1977
Pablo – Singles and Overall Champion Tampa 1969-1970
Arambarri – Tournament of Champions 1977
That was a great year – the place was packed with an excellent roster led by those 8 players and many, many more. Aramayo and Arambarri have both attended the museum and were well greeted at that incredible reunion party we had. Unfortunately, Arambarri has passed away since then, but his name has frequently been brought up at our court and at gatherings over the past couple of years. Of course, when you talk about the greatest players of all time, Boliver and Gorrono are on that list.
Thanks for the donation, Bennett, who has always been one of my favorite posters on Tigers site for the past 20 years or so. And sorry, he is not the same Gary Morton that was married to Lucille Ball (after her divorce with Desi Arnaz) and was producer of her second hit TV series after “I Love Lucy”.
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 29th. 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 30th 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!
Another Saturday at the Park. Chicago wasn’t playing on the radio much to Paul Berglund’s wishes, but there were plenty of players out there at America’s public court this past Saturday morning/afternoon.
Nearly 20 players showed up at Puryear Park, including the Rastock “clan” that included Ty “Cobb” Wilson and “Phatboy”.
It seems like whenever “E.F.” Sutton sends out a text, plenty of players come out to join America’s national Master Champion in some fast -paced action.
There were so many players, that several had to sit out alternating games, limiting the teams to 5 or 6 posts per game. But that didn’t seem to bother anyone – it was HOT. The feel like surpassed 100 degrees by early afternoon.
This was believed to be the largest open play turnout in the 17 years of action since becoming a full-fledged public court, outside of organized league or tournament play.
It was good to see Cachin back in action after a several month issue with a reoccurrence with his serious cancer diagnosis he survived a few years ago. We are pleased to announce everything appears to be OK and he played well.
It was also good to see Garby back in action, who suffered a gall blader infection. He was sidelined for a couple of months and lost well over twenty (20) pounds.
Alex injured his left wrist last week and will be out of action for a while, but did show to root on the players.
Below is some drone footage provided by Kenneth Bashford (one of Magicmike’s customers)
