Re(7): Long lines, back in the day Posted on June 29, 2026 at 11:11:15 PM by 40yrfan
Opposite of the mutual windows where bets were placed was the cashier windows. Easy job you think? Not really. A patron would walk up
and hand you a ticket or multiple tickets. You checked the printouts (updated after each game) that the fronton provided you for that performance to verify that the ticket was good. You checked the ticket's date, game number, the actual wager and team numbers. If you were satisfied you tore a corner off of the ticket and paid the person cashing the ticket. Again, no computer code to scan, only a visual inspection. You were expected to pay only legitimate winning tickets or, if you cashed a losing ticket, possibly being held liable or terminated. In all fairness there was a cashier window that cashed previous performances only. Even so, a line of impatient people waiting to cash their tickets so they could get in another line to bet on the next game could make things hectic. I worked cashing tickets two performances but the extra
money was not worth it so I moved over to taking wagers. The best part about that job was once the opening serve was made a bell went off and the machines locked and did not unlock until the game ended and the results were posted and made official. Cashiers had to remind at their stations but the clerks who took wagers could go down and watch almost the entire game once they accounted for and sent the correct amount of money wagered on that game to the money room. I worked Friday nights and Saturday matinees and nights which gave me the opportunity to watch a lot of jai alai. On a side note, Florida's para-mutual rules at that time did not permit more that 12 games per performance nor did they permit ANY Paramutual facility--jai alai, dog or horse racing--to operate on Sundays. Replies: There have been no replies.
Tiger's Jai-Alai Chalk Talk
