The Pelota Press has confirmed – with 100% accuracy (barring Visa and COVID-19 issues)- that several of the top players in the world are playing at Miami Jai-alai this December and January.
Star players Goiko, Lopez and Erkiaga are confirmed to play at America’s oldest fronton in Miami. This is huge news for jai-alai fans. New ownership is said to not have any interest in jai-alai, but this incredible news clearly overrides that motion – at least for now.
We will have additional news on who is on the roster soon.
It appears the highly anticipated father-son team of Benny and Chris Bueno are out of the USNJAC tournament which is now set for December 5-6th at Magic City. The event, expected to garner a huge national “jai-alai” audience – not only in attendance but on YouTube’s Jai-alai Channel has been rescheduled with its 4th date now set in stone unless county officials stop it due to increased COVID-19 cases. Dania player manager and former Miami star player Benny was originally scheduled to appear with his son Chris, whose been making amazing progress in his second season at Magic City. Chris is now scheduled to play with Magic City’s top player “Douglas” in the tournament. Douglas was originally scheduled to play with another sophomore player – Kubala – who will now in turn play with his father Paul Kubala. Paul was the main force in getting the first public jai-alai court ever built in the United States back in 2007. His son Kyle practically grew up with a jai-alai basket in his hand at the public jai-alai court two blocks from their home. But he pursued golf since his high school days and was on the golf team in college, before Magic City caught his interest with a very respectable salary and bonus structure.
We will keep you posted with details on this event which is rapidly approaching us.
“Jai-Alai contains constant excitement and manly effort taken to the upmost limits.”
Ernest Hemingway
The Basque ballgame which Hemingway referred to has enveloped many lives including Dania’s Player Manager, Benny Bueno. Presently, Bueno is excited with jai-alai’s return following the suspension of the Merry Festival due to the pandemic. The fronton will turn sixty-six years old this coming December. Known as the Dania Jai-Alai Palace for years when owned by Roy McAndrews in the early 1960’s, champagne-pouring butler service was provided inside an enclosed sixteen-seat Royal Box for VIPs – regality. The former professional pelotari for over a quarter century is looking forward to the Annual Jai-Alai Fall Challenge beginning in November.
Bueno of Cuban-American descent, born and raised in Miami, played America’s pastime, baseball growing up and through high school, but was eventually drawn to the game Hemingway discovered at the fronton in Havana, Cuba. Hemingway became an aficionado of the game in his forties and befriended the 1924 Jai-Alai Olympic Gold Medalist, Jose Garate who represented Spain at the Games in Paris, France. Garate referred to the Basque-originated game as “a violent game, a dangerous game.” Bueno discovered the Merry Festival as an early teen, who decided on giving up the white cowhide baseball for a goat-skinned covered pelota. Prior to joining Dania Jai-Alai in the summer of 2009, Bueno was a feature game pelotari on one the game’s top rosters during his playing days at the now-named Casino Miami Jai-Alai.
A professional playing career at America’s oldest, southernmost fronton which lasted a remarkable twenty-five years was bookended with a professional debut in 1981 and final season in 2009 fittingly closing with a Singles Championship at Miami’s sister-fronton, Fort Pierce.
Dania Jai-Alai’s Player Manager garnered many awards while at World Jai-Alai and eventually Florida Gaming’s Miami Jai-Alai, but his greatest gift to the sport continues to be his passion, desire to see the Happy Game grow and not become stagnant. The accomplishments on the cancha are plentiful first as a hard-throwing Frontcourter and then, after eighteen years playing professionally, in 1998, making an unthinkable seamless transition to a smooth-catching Backourter; the trophy case chronologically includes the following: Miami’s Most Wins (1985), Mexico City Invitational Tournament medalist (1991), National Association of Jai-Alai Frontons (N.A.J.F.) Champion (1992), World Champion Runner-Up at Guernica (1992), Tournament of Championship Winner (1994), Milford Jai-Alai’s World Series Singles Champion (1998), Orlando Jai-Alai’s Citrus Invitational Singles and Doubles Champion (1999), Miami’s Singles and Doubles Champion (2001 and 2002) and two-time back-to-back Dania-Miami Champion in 2002 and 2003.
This writer accompanied Bueno on many career days to elementary schools in Dade County and events for special needs children during the nineties, and the 2010 Amateur Baseball Umpires Hall of Fame inductee has always put the betterment of the game first and foremost. Bringing the game to children, promoting the sport, appearing in the 1986 Miami Vice episode “Kill Shot”, which brought Jai-Alai to the homes of the entire nation, filming MTV Sports with host Gabrielle Reece on a Jai-Alai feature, a weekly television show — Miami Jai-Lites, co-hosted with present Dania Jai-Alai Announcer, “Big” Dave Lemmon, as well as starting up a grass-roots amateur program following his days as a professional pelotari and prior to Dania-days. The former world-class Frontcourter who competed day-in-day-out against two of the game’s greats in Michelena and present Magic City Player Manager, J.R. Arrasate, still keeps the game idyllic. Whereas, Garate saw the game as violent and dangerous, Bueno still sees the picturesque beauty which can be brought to so many more – Hemingway’s beloved “constant excitement.”
Bueno will tell you he did not land his present position by accident. He ascended to his present duties after developing the Dania Amateur Program when hired in 2009 as Dania’s Player Development Manager, then succeeding long-time Tampa Jai-Alai and Dania Player Manager, Jose Arregui a year later in 2010. Forever the optimist, he shuns the philosophical paradigm held by previous management regimes of Florida frontons that “this (the state of the Jai-Alai) is as good as it (the game) gets.” Dania Jai-Alai’s Player Manager will always look at the sport and life through rose-colored glasses.
The Fall Challenge will run through mid-December. Please return to the pelotapress site for updates regarding participating Partido teams, dates, and results.
Magic City Jai-Alai’s Scott Savin announced three major events during Friday’s noon Jai-Alai performance this week:
The US National Jai-Alai Championship is now scheduled for Saturday & Sunday, December 5-6, shortly after the end of the Magic City Jai-Alai season which ends on Sunday, November 29th. There are currently 35-40 confirmed entrants with more coming in. Live fan viewing, if accommodated, is likely to be limited to family and/or friends of contestants but details are still being sorted out. This is great news for Jai-Alai fans as the tournament has been postponed several times due to the worldwide covid-19 pandemic. Die-hard Jai-Alai fans are surely hoping and expecting to see the father/son team of Benny & Chris Bueno who were previously entered in this tourney.
Also, Scott Savin mentioned the addition of 10-more weeks of Magic City Jai-Alai in 2021from February through the first 2-weeks in April. This is great news for Magic City Jai-Alai fans!
The third big announcement is the start of the final 2020 Doubles Tournament at Magic City Jai-Alai which starts on Thursday, October 15 at the noon performance. Teams were announced and there will be two doubles games each performance, games 5 & 7, not the usual three that we are used to seeing. The first place team splits $10,000 while the second place team splits an impressive $5,000. The 9-teams for the tourney are: Vuelo-Anderluck, Asier-Douglas, CRB-Ben, Jeden-Bradley, Cool Fitness-Ikeda, El Barba-Kubala, Juice-RonRon, Bueno-Tennessee, Diaz-Carballo. This tourney runs through the end of the 2020 season and should definitely provide some great competitive action for fans to follow
Miami Jai-alai will likely be reopening this season – December 1st as the target date. The season is expected to run for two months, during the months of December and January.
The plans are for about a 20-man roster with all the games being played at singles. The roster is expected to be rather strong, with Mendi as the players manager. We do not have an idea whose on the roster as no contracts as being handed out as of now.
The historic fronton, once known as the “Yankee Stadium of jai-alai”, now resembles more as the “Tropicana Field of Jai-alai”. However, we understand improvements have been ongoing. There were plans to turn the auditorium into a Cirque Du Soleil but with Corona still peaking in Miami, it is unknown what the long term plans are.
The highly anticipated Magic City tournament is still trying to pull off their national event which would feature 60 players – both amateurs and professionals – with a walloping $20,000 in prize money up for grabs.
With COVID-19 causing problems more than Donald Trump could imagine, the event, originally scheduled for April 25-26 was been postponed three times already. The event was then rescheduled to June 27-28, then pushed back to July 25-26 when it was postponed again. Now organizers are trying to hold it during the weekend of December 5-6th. This new date is also during the time when Dania will be in the last couple weeks of their season, and during the first week of the Miami Jai-alai season (see related story on Pelotapress.com). A few of their players were registered to play in this event, but promoters will try to work around the conflict of this event and their regular jobs as players.
Who could have registered?
The USNJAC was open to any amateur and professional jai-alai that is a US Citizen, 18 years of age or older. The players have until Wednesday, October 7, 2020 to inform MC if they are still interested in participating. If they get enough positive responses, the event will go on – with some restrictions.
The original scoring format
This is a double elimination, head-to-head format. First to 6 points in First Round First to 5 points in Double Elimination Round First to 7 points in Second Round through Semi-Finals First to 9 points in Finals
Singles Play
Limited to 60 entries in Singles. The 30 players eliminated in the First Round will have a second chance Double Elimination Round with 2 players advancing back into the competition.
Doubles Play
Limited to 28 teams in Doubles. 14 teams eliminated in the First Round will have a second chance Double Elimination Round with 2 players advancing back into the competition.
Prize Money
$20,000 in prize money will be awarded throughout the Championship.
Singles 1st Place $7,500 Singles 2nd Place $2,500 Doubles 1st Place $7,500 Doubles 2nd Place $2,500
Rules and Requirements
You must be a USA citizen and a photocopy of passport or birth certificate is required with Entry Form. Players must be at least 18 years old. Video required of you playing if not known to the Selection Committee. Selection Committee has final determination of entrants should the entry field exceed the available playing slots. You must wear an approved helmet.
The Venue
Magic City Casino in Miami, Florida. Glass walls at the front and back walls. The court is 120 foot long by 40 foot width. The ceiling is low and makes this a difficult court to play on compared to others.
Other original worthy notes
There will be a 1-minute warm-up before each match. Practice time will be available on the Friday before the event which is held on a Saturday and Sunday.
The latest restrictions
At this time, it is unknown if spectators will be allowed in the fronton. If they aren’t, they will have to watch the event on a large screen TV in the Sports Club at Magic City. If there is a limited number of spectators allowed, guests of the players will have priority over the general public. A large capacity crowd was likely to have happened when it was first scheduled. No news on the Friday night party which would have featured the players and their guests.
