This is a great subject. I am sure I have a few memories, or more than a few. One that stands out is from Bridgeport Jai-Alai. When I was in college, I got a job there sweeping the floor on the inside maintenance crew so I could be around the game. It was a Thursday night, payday was the next day...this is 1980 or 81...I had $1 in my pocket. The last game of the night was the All-Star Feature Doubles match, and all points were scored one at a time. I asked my two friends to each put up a dollar of their own to bet one trifecta...straight...7-8-6. They both refused to put up $1 to play such an unlikely number. The 7 team was Bolivar-Nuarbe. The 8 team was Cachin-Elorza. The 6 was Ondarres-Chimela. This game went around and around and Bolivar and Nuarbe came up and only had 1 point...the 8 team had 6 points and the 6 had 5, and I walked down to where my friends were sitting and I said if Bolivar runs this game out, it is going to come in 7-8-6 straight with no playoff. Incredibly, he did just that, and I will tell you for a 20 year old kid, it was gut-wrenching not to have that trifecta when I predicted it cold right before the game. The trifecta only paid $1,200 straight, which was not much in those days for a 7-8-6, but with Bolivar on top and Cachin in there, that combo was bet more than usual. I would have taken away less than $300 for $1 after taxes, but in 1980, that was a lot of money when you are making $3.40 per hour. Those were the good old days and I saw so many of those games because I worked there.
