Jai alai Although the sport has been in decline in America for several years, the first public amateur jai alai facility was built in the United States in 2008, in St. Petersburg, Florida, with the assistance of the city of St. Petersburg and private funding from Jeff Conway (Laca). Jai alai is virtually unknown in the western United States but still maintains some popularity in parts of the Northeast. In addition to the amateur court in St. Petersburg, The American Jai-Alai Foundation whose president Victor Valcarce was a pelotari at Dania Jai-Alai (MAGO #86) and was considered the best "pelota de goma"
Cyrus Alai 2006 and 2009. He donated his huge collection of Persian maps to the University of London. Cyrus Alai Cyrus Alai (Persian: سیروس علایی) is a Persian-British engineer, map collector and the author of the book "General Maps of Persia". Alai was born in Tehran and studied at Technical University of Berlin. Before the 1979 revolution he was a lecturer at Tehran University. Shortly after the revolution he moved to London. Alai has contributed to various publications such as the Encyclopedia Iranica for the entries related to cartography of Persia. He is the author of two books "General Maps of Persia"