Basque pelota for betting, during the 80's and 90's Jai-Alai was especially popular in Miami and Florida where the frontons had press boxes, restaurants, and going to the Jai-Alai was seen to be a privilege. Men often came in suits and women came in elaborate dresses for the "special event". Nowadays Jai-Alai has dropped in popularity instead of thousands of people who came to watch now there are barely a couple hundred. Pelota is usually played in the Basque regions of south-western France and north-eastern Spain, where it originates. There are also federations of Basque ball in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Costa
Jai alai 2011, jai-alai was briefly shut down in the province of Pangasinan because of its connection to illegal jueteng gambling but was reopened after a court order. In the United States, jai alai enjoyed some popularity as a gambling alternative to horse racing, greyhound racing, and harness racing, and remains popular in Florida, where the game is used as a basis for Parimutuel betting at six frontons throughout the state: Dania Beach, Fort Pierce, Jasper, Casselberry, Miami, and Reddick. The first jai alai fronton in the United States was located in St. Louis, Missouri, operating around the time of the 1904