JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The company that would operate slot machines in Jacksonville if approved by the voters and the Florida Supreme Court donated $17,500 to the campaigns of the mayor and current City Council members when they were running for office last year, the I-TEAM learned.
The Jacksonville City Council voted 18-1 Tuesday night to put a question about whether slot machines should be legalized on the November ballot for voters to decide. News4Jax learned that 11 of the 18 who voted in favor have received contributions from BestBet or related companies, Jacksonville Greyhound Racing and JGR Services.
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If passed, slot machines would only be allowed at the BestBet facility on Monument Road, across from the Regency Mall. Under the legislation, it would be the only slot machines allowed within 50 miles.
Lenny Curry got the the biggest contribution from the pari-mutuel gambling companies during his campaign for mayor: $4,000. Council members Anna Lopez-Brosche, Reggie Gaffney and Tommy Hazouri received $2,000 each, while Aaron Bowman, Garrett Dennis, Greg Anderson, John Crescimbeni, Joyce Morgan, Matt Schellenberg and Scott Wilson each received $1,000. Bill Gulliford received $500.
After the vote, many council members said slot machines are a sure-fire way to create jobs, boost tourism and bring money to the city, especially the Arlington area. BestBest said adding slot machines would create 1,500 jobs with salaries of roughly $50,000.
"It's an opportunity. Like I said, I'm all about jobs, bringing jobs to Jacksonville," said Councilman Aaron Bowman, the sponsor of the bill. "And these are great jobs, high-paying jobs. They have benefits. The employees there love working there. So they're the kind of jobs that we want. So that was No. 1 and the economic impact to the community was No. 2."
News4Jax was told 1.5 percent of the money that the machines take in will go to the city, adding up to an extra $5.7 million a year to fund things like infrastructure improvements.
Councilman Doyle Carter cast the only no vote. He said he voted against it for personal reasons.
"In the beginning, when I started in '99, I've always voted no on gambling or liquor," Carter said. "(It's) just something I've always done."
Even if the referendum passes in November, the state Supreme Court will likely end up weighing in on whether local governments can expand gambling in their jurisdictions.
Right now, the court is considering a case that will determine whether voters in counties or cities like Jacksonville can overrule state gambling laws and approve slot machines in their own communities, even with a public referendum.
Bowman said the bill gets the city ahead of the game if the state Supreme Court does allow cities to pass their own legislation on slot machines.
"We're watching what the Supreme Court does right now. But we knew that we had another two years to wait to put it on a referendum, so the idea was let's get the voters to speak and say 'Yes' and wait and see what the Supreme Court says. And if the Supreme Court says no, it's going to die. We want at least the chance to be ready," Bowman said.
If the court decides cities can make that decision, the 2,000 slot machines at BestBet in Arlington would make the facility the largest non-tribal facility with slot machines in Florida. The court is expected to make its decision later this summer.