Dania Casino reopened its doors in Florida

After Argentinian actress Susana Gimenez cut the ceremonial ribbon at the grand opening of the Dania Casino and Jai-Alai, a crowd of VIPs streamed into the partially-renovated facility to sip champagne and enjoy the gleaming new slot machines. The facility has come a long way since Jai-Alai was in its heyday and poker was the only game there

Fort Lauderdale resident Connie Beal said she always enjoyed watching Jai-Alai. The slots are an added bonus. "I've been coming here since 1974. So to see all this, it is so exciting," Beal said.

The casino is a few years late to the party, though. When Broward voters approved slots in 2006, the old Dania Jai-Alai never renovated. A company called Boyd Gaming bought it and later sold it at a loss. Then, in 2013, a group of Argentinian investors bought the property and construction began.

"I think we can compete with everybody and there is a place and the market is sufficiently open. We can manage it," said investor Federico de Achaval.
"We think it's the perfect timing for us. You've seen the development in the area -- Dania Beach and the airport right next to us is undergoing construction. So I think the timing is right," said Gamboa.

It must be noted that Boyd initially bought the property back in 2006 for us$152 million but high tax rates on slots and competition from the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino drew away any interest from Boyd in using the land.

A massive renovation soon followed to turn the 61-year old jai-alia fronton into a glistening casino that will be a key piece in the revitalization of the community. “Dania’s been pretty much out of sight for decades,” Baird Thompson, a casino consultant in Miami, told the Sun Sentinel.

But the opening of Dania Casino should inject some much-needed life into the community. Casino officials have already said that the establishment is set to employ around 300 people with a long-term target of significantly bumping that number up as soon as the renovations are completed. Once everything is all spic and span, Dania Casino is expected to feature as many as 1,400 slot machines, a hotel, a marina, and access to nearby waterways.

The opening of the casino has a lot of people in Dania Beach excited, including mayor Walter Duke who admitted that the timing of the casino’s opening couldn’t  have come at a better time to aid in the community’s current economic recovery.

“Dania Beach is clearly a city on the rise, and their re-emergence is a big part of it,” Duke told the Sun Sentinel. Dania still has to worry about the Seminole Hard Rock if it hopes to gain traction in its area, but none of that is important now. What’s important is Dania Casino is opening its doors to the public. It was the slowest of slow plays, but finally, the time has come.