Dania Casino & Jai-alai Happy with Past “Season”

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.