Dania Jai-alai to Release Roster by End of September
Dania Jai-alai is gearing up for its “comeback” season that opens on Thursday evening, December 1st and concludes on January 29, 2023.
The roster, expected to be around 22-24 players, will be announced by the end of this month. While we can’t divulge on who’s playing right now, we can tell you there will be some “major surprises” to the naysayers who question how strong of a roster that could be put together.
The comeback season caught many off guard, who thought Dania had closed shop on the sport that was the main attraction for over 60 years till the slot machines came rolling in.
Are they holding the season because they “have” to or because they “want” to? As you know, a judge struck down an agreement the State of Florida had made with the Seminole Indians involving among other things, sports betting online. The decoupling of jai-alai was part of the package. No one seems to know for sure where the other parimutuels stand as far a running live jai-alai and keeping their slots rolling. We do know for a fact that Orlando Jai-alai recently applied for a jai-alai permit to conduct a “live” season and there has been plenty of talk about Calder reopening.
Dania will be staging live prime time 7pm jai-alai with parimutuel wagering Wednesday thru Saturday nights and matinees on Saturday and Sunday. Yes, a good old-fashioned twin-bill on Saturdays!
With the season open only for the two months – December and January, Dania will be able to capitalize on two busy tourist season months, no direct competition from Magic City who are closed those two months.
Additionally, they will be open during the final two weeks of the year, capitalizing on what was a very busy time for jai-alai in the golden years.
