Dania Beach Casino trades in Jai Ala for Slots

dania-beach-slotsThe long-awaited Casino at Dania Beach is ready to open its doors after a $64 million renovation. And anybody who played at the casino, which Body Gaming once owned, will notice a glaring change: there are far more slots machines than jai-alai court space now.

Now owned by Dania Entertainment Corp, the Miami-based casino once featured a giant jai alai complex, complete with a 5,000-seat arena. However, the Casino at Dania has cut this space down to a 500-seat stadium in favor of using more space for 880 slot machines, a 21-table poker room, restaurants and an electronic gaming section with blackjack, craps and roulette.

Scott Savin, CEO of Dania Entertainment Corp, told the Sun Sentinel that the idea was to modernize the Casino at Dania Beach.

“We brought Dania Jai Alai into the 21st century,” said Savin. “Our competitors want you to come in and gamble. We try to emphasize entertainment over gambling. Our casinos are about the concerts, the comedians, the shows. We want you to come in and have a drink, listen to music, take in a show, watch jai alai.”

While the casino wants to feature their slots and amenities more prominently now, they haven’t forgotten about the sport of jai ala. The complex may be smaller, but it’s been modernized to include a giant video screen.

jai-alai“We are reinventing and rebranding jai alai,” Savin explained. “We’re trying to revive what some people think is a dead sport. But we’ve been getting tons of calls about jai alai.”

Other big changes that Dania Beach gamblers can expect include a Las Vegas-style buffet, comedians, concerts and sports bars.

“It looks like a true Las Vegas-style casino,” Dania Beach Mayor Marco Salvino said. “It will draw people from all over and bring more people to our city. We want people to come here to gamble and enjoy the new casino and maybe check out some of the new restaurants.”

The grand opening for the Casino at Dania Beach will be on February 26 while people can stop by a visit the newly renovated casino now.