Pretty interesting question....here's my rundown:
Dania - With the slots coming they should be not only open but
also the dominant player with the cash coming in. Only question
is whether they run live all year long or just run the minimum
150 performances. If they commit to jai-alai like they've said
we could see a better facility than ever and possibly attract
the top talent with higher salaries and bonus money.
Miami - still could get the slots with a Yes vote in Dade next
year. Even if they don't I think they'll still be open 4-5 years
down the road. They run live year round now so they could always
drop to a short season to keep the simulcast going. You'd think
they'd do that first before just closing the doors. Unless of
course FL Gaming gets a huge offer to sell the fronton for the
land and location.
Orlando - I think we'll still see them running a 3 month season
in 2011. Primary reason is they are doing well with the simulcasts
and attract a lot of horse bettors. Poker is a longshot here so
doubt they will run full time, but looks like they make enough
from the simulcast to keep the minimum jai-alai season around
for years to come.
Fort Pierce - something has to change here for jai-alai to continue.
Their simulcast does okay, but nothing like Orlando. Is it enough
to justify a live jai-alai season? They've already sent a message
with the singles only last year, and that message seems to be
they don't care about the product they put on the court. Getting
poker approved could turn everything around. But that has not
been discussed in a while. With this being FL Gaming's second
and lower priority fronton, I'd say it's 50/50 that they could
be gone in a few years.
Ocala - definitely a real possibility they could close in the
near future. Not a strong simulcast handle, plus OBS nearby gets
a lot of that business. They have the shortest season of all the
frontons already. Poker could work here if they try to get it
approved. But failing that you have to wonder how long they can
run seasons when they are clearly losing money.
Hamilton - the big question mark is whether racing will replace
jai-alai or if they go to six months racing and six months jai-alai
to keep poker year round. Does it really matter though as no one
is watching the jai-alai anyways? Looks like they'll never develop
a jai-alai fan base so you've got to figure the days of live games
could be numbered. And Glenn Richards has made it clear that he
is a horse guy who did jai-alai because it was the easiest way
to eventually get a track built.
My guess is in 2011 we should have 3 open for sure (Dania, Miami,
Orlando) and maybe one survivor among Fort Pierce, Ocala, Hamilton.
If the facilities get VLTs or slots and live dates are required
then they will probably all have jai-alai at least part of the
year.
