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Is betting on jai alai a thing anymore?

Discussion in 'The Sports Book' started by EastCoastVegasFan!, Aug 11, 2021.

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  1. EastCoastVegasFan!

    EastCoastVegasFan! VIP Whale

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    Born and raised in Miami, Florida. I have fond childhood memories of going to jai alai with my father. Is it still around? Can you bet on it in Vegas?
     
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  2. VegasBJ

    VegasBJ VIP Whale

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    I do not know of any Jai Alai betting lines in Vegas. years ago (maybe more than 30), we used to go down to Tijuana and watch it down there. Rumor was the matches were fixed ( a la WWE) and that the winners were predetermined.
    I saw some sports clip not long ago that showed Jai Alai still being played in Miami
     
  3. The Rumor

    The Rumor VIP Whale

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    I have never seen a place to bet it in Vegas.
     
  4. Joeman

    Joeman Low-Roller

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    All but two of the frontons in Florida have stopped featuring live jai alai. Only Miami and Dania still have it. However, you can still bet on it at any of the pari-mutuel locations throughout the state.

    Outside of Florida? I'm not sure, but I would lean towards 'no.'
     
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  5. ronc

    ronc VIP Whale

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    The old-timers used to swear that the color of the line on the ball tossed into a match was the "call" from "the bosses" on which team would win. The problem was that the ball never slowed down enough to track the colors well...and, since the ball came in as the match began, my bets were already in.

    We would go pretty often as we got old enough to attend. Cheap beer, cheap bets, and heckle the players. I remember a guy named "Zubi" we always heckled. Yeah, not so nice of us... Fun nights! Never really won but never lost much, either. Saw a lot of our teachers there.

    Our class, and at least a few that followed, graduated at the Jai Alai Fronton in Eau Gallie (for purists; it was really in Melbourne since the hostile takeover of Eau Galle by them in 1969). We also played a concert with the Brevard Symphony there in high school. 1812 Overture.

    The turned it into a dog track. That sucked. I think it is mainly a card room now. I see the have UTH there. Maybe I will stop in sometime. Maybe not.

    https://mgpark.com/#events

    Dania Jai Alai...

    https://www.casinodaniabeach.com/jai-alai/
     
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  6. MCann

    MCann I can't complain, but sometimes I still do...

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    Funny to hear the comments about it being fixed. I and a couple friends used to go to the Orlando one underage when I was...well, under 18, because they didnt give 2 poops, and we used to bet and everything. One night we found ourselves sitting next to an old fella chain smoking filterless cigarettes who explained to us that it was fixed, that they were going to look at the ball to see who the winner was supposed to be, and that the guy with the ball in hand was going to signal the other players. He taught us the signals, and with exactly ONE exception, the pattern of signals he taught us was 100% accurate over multiple trips, every single game. And the one solitary exception, we are pretty convinced was accidental and the player that was supposed to win whiffed a shot unintentionally.
     
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  7. joespoolhall

    joespoolhall VIP Whale

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    It's more of an east coast thing, isn't it?
     
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  8. thegov2k2

    thegov2k2 VIP Whale

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    There used to be a few frontons in CT but they've since closed. You may still be able to bet on simulcasts at Foxwoods, I know you could in years past.
     
  9. Ty

    Ty ?

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    Betting the opposite side?
    Big winner, at least one time.
     
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  10. Joeman

    Joeman Low-Roller

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    This thread has gotten me reminiscing... The summer I graduated high school, we would venture to the Palm Beach Jai Alai fronton (which they claimed was the largest in the world) every few weeks. In the 90's, in addition to Palm Beach, I visited Miami, Dania, Ft. Pierce, Orlando, and Ocala.

    Ocala Jai Alai (which was actually located in the middle of nowhere, nestled amongst the cow pastures some 15 miles north of Ocala) was only a 20 minute drive from the apartment I lived in while attending UF.

    I'd head down there fairly regularly when they had live jai-alai, which was not very often. I think their season was only 2 or 3 months long. One other thing is that on off nights, they would allow amateurs to get onto the cancha and play the game! I did this weekly during much of my sophomore year. It is an exhilarating game -- and dangerous. That pelota is as hard as a rock, and it moves fast. I ended up with a broken thumb for my efforts one night!

    The last time I attended a live jai alai game was around 2004. They had opened up a new fronton (in the middle of nowhere, again) off of I-75 near the FL/GA line called Hamilton Downs. Needless to say, they did not have live jai-alai for very long.

    As to the fixing of games, I have heard a handful of theories. One was "the player's game," where the players would pick one game out of the performance where they would decide on the winner beforehand. Then they would have their confederates make the appropriate bets on that one game.
     
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  11. Renaldow

    Renaldow VIP Whale

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    Being on and from the west coast, I've never seen Jai Alai, and the first thing I thought of was when I saw this thread was, "You can't bet on that, those games are rigged". So, that's the reputation it has for a lot of people, I think. I have no idea whether it is or not, but it sounds like it would be a fun experience live.
     
  12. zerofan

    zerofan VIP Whale

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    I used to go the one in Bridgeport, CT and I think Milford as well when they were both going. It was so much fun betting and watching them play, I miss it.

    As @MCann mentioned being underage when going, I have the same experience. They didn't care or card you as long as you didn't look like a little kid lol
     
  13. EastCoastVegasFan!

    EastCoastVegasFan! VIP Whale

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    They had this live in Connecticut? Wow, I was struck me as a very Miami thing to do. I mean, it’s in the intro to Miami Vice! :).
     
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  14. zerofan

    zerofan VIP Whale

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    Yes, they had it in 2 locations in CT but I think one closed and moved to the other location. So it was either Bridgeport first then Milford or the other way around, I forget.

    There was one in Hartford too but I never knew about that one.
     
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  15. petevegas

    petevegas Stick with me baby, I'm the fella you came in with

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    My parents used to go to one of the frontons in CT. I always wanted to go but never made it. i think they went to the one in Milford....or I just remember the TV adverts for that ....

    Anyway I found this tidbit online:
    Jai alai enjoyed a brief and popular stint in Las Vegas with the opening of a fronton at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino; however, by the early 1980s the fronton was losing money and was closed by MGM Grand owner Kirk Kerkorian.
     
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  16. jpfromla

    jpfromla RFB

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    The sports book at Bally’s Vegas is the site of the old jai alai court/stadium.
     
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  17. fcmonk

    fcmonk Low-Roller

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    I worked with a guy who played at the Bridgeport fronton. He'd fix games. If he wore a certain colored wristband he signaled his buddy that he was throwing the game. The owner found out (it doesn't sound like it was hard) and told him that if he so much set one foot in the parking lot that he'd shoot him in the face. Thus ended his career in the sport.
     
  18. Renaldow

    Renaldow VIP Whale

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  19. LvBlitzforce

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    Heading down to Miami in a few weeks and am definitely interested in jai alai as well as horse racing down there, any tips?

    Which casino to go, what to expect, is it anything like Vegas, first time doing either or actually even going to a casino while in Florida so anything at all would be much appreciated thanks.
     
  20. Michael Smith

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    Actually, the building adjacent to Bally’s Sports Book was used for jai alai—it opened in the 70's when it was still the MGM before the fire. It’s an employment center now. I think the Bally's book has always been in that space and was once one of the premier books in Vegas.

    Here's a good read about the topic:

    https://www.gamingtoday.com/news/recalling-jai-alai-at-old-mgm-in-las-vegas/
     
    Last edited: Aug 13, 2021
    Final Four/Santa Anita Derby
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