The Jai-5 and Mighty Ocho jackpots are both being paid-out today to the ticket holder(s) with the most correct winners on their ticket. This is referred to as a “mandatory payout” in the pari-mutuel industry. The current carryover jackpots plus the added 80% of Sunday’s wagering pools on these bets are paid-out entirely.
According to SayHiLi.com’s Jai-alai industry expert, Steve M, watch for at least $5,500 total to be paid back on the Jai-5 and at least $3,500 total to be paid back on the Mighty Ocho. This means a total of $9,000 to be paid back to lucky ticket holders according to Steve’s projections. Going into Sunday’s Jai-alai performance at Magic City Jai-alai, the Jai-5 carryover jackpot is $2,603 and the Mighty Ocho is $1,632, so expect to see some big fan wagering action! Be sure to get your Mighty Ocho wagers in EARLY as this bet starts Game 1. The minimum bet costs are $1 each for both of these jackpot wagers.
These jackpots wagers are not the only big payouts today at Magic City. Today marks the conclusion of the first of three doubles tournament for 2020 at Magic City Jai-alai. The team of Limonte-Douglas have already clinched first-place victory and the $10,000 team prize, however the 2nd place team prize of $5,000 is still up for grabs.
The teams of Juice-Carballo and Bueno-Tennessee are both tied at 20-wins each for second place. Tennessee injured himself at Friday’s second performance in game 2 so he has been sidelined and recovering from a rib injury, thus Bueno has been teamed-up with a substitute partner. Tournament rules do not count wins when there is a substitute player on the team, so Bueno-Tennessee can’t add to their win record. Juice-Carballo have three opportunities to win 2nd place outright today and seize the $5,000 second place team prize. These opportunities are in doubles games 3, 5 and 7. Game 3 they have a decent post number, the 3-post, so they will likely have opportunities in the second round too, and perhaps a third round even. Game 5 is also another good opportunity from the 7-post. Typically the 7-post is the least desirable post number in Jai-alai (statistically the lowest win % if all teams are equal), however the doubles games were adjusted to 7-post games when they resumed yesterday as 16-players weren’t available to play the typical 8-post doubles games. The player shortage was due to player illnesses and precautions taken by Magic City management. This adjustment to a 7-post game makes the 7-post the equivalent of the 8-post in a typical Spectacular 7-point game, where a perfect game can be accomplished by winning four match-ups in a row. The final tournament game chance for clinching second place comes in Game 7 where Juice-Carballo are playing from the 5-post. Should they have not yet reached their 21st win for the tourney in game 3 or 5, this game will be a significant challenge as Bueno and his substitute player, Legend or Bradley, are playing in the lucrative 2-post and Limonte-RonRon are playing from the 7-post. RonRon, a top contender at Magic City Jai-alai, has been playing exceptionally well this week while Bueno will be pulling all the tricks out of his bag to spoil a second place doubles victory for Juice-Carballo.
Should Juice-Carballo not succeed today in their quest to win at least one of the three doubles games, the tournament will end in a tie today and the second place prize money winners will be determined in the future in a winner-take-all partido-style Jai-alai game where the two teams will face-off after Tennessee has fully recovered from his rib injury. Most likely, a face-off like this will be a game to 7-points with all points being single points.
Also, the Magic City Fantasy Jai-alai winner for this week, Week 9, will receive a Magic City themed prize autographed by the winning tournament team of Limonte-Douglas. Get your friends and family to join the Magic City Fantasy Jai-alai league as there will be cash prizes awarded once there are 200 entries!
Don’t forget about the expanded Magic City Jai-alai schedule starting in Week 10 with the addition of Wednesday noon performances starting July 1 and Saturday 8-pm performances starting on July 4. Thanks Magic City for specializing in excitement!