Two weeks ago the City of Hialeah welcomed the opening of the Casino at Hialeah Park.
Within five days of that opening The Casino at Miami Jai- Alai filed a chapter 11 bankruptcy. The facilities are a mere two miles apart and now one opens with great fanfare while the other appears on the brink of closing. Don’t count Miami Jai-Alai out so fast as there appear to be lots of behind the scenes maneuvering going on.
Apparently the casino at Miami Jai- Alai was on the verge of being sold and the triangle of players, seller, buyer, and lender were not exactly seeing eye to eye. It seems the claims of monies owed by the lender would have left the current ownership of Miami Jai-Alai in a negative position if the sale were consummated.
Some accounts portray the owners as having potential seller’s remorse when they realized they might have under valued their property. It is made all the more complicated with the opening of another casino property just down the street.
How much business loss will Casino Miami Jai-Alai suffer from a competitor opening up so nearby?
We in the gaming community will all be intently watching this saga unfold. In the meantime Casino Miami Jai-Alai is saying it will be business as usual.
