When bestbet Jacksonville opened in 2012, Al Ferraro wasn’t a City Council member.
He lived in Arlington near Regency, where the state’s largest poker room opened.
He wasn’t a fan. He didn’t want gambling in his neighborhood, fearing it would deteriorate.
“I was 100 percent against it,” he said Thursday.
So much so that he went to every meeting they had to oppose it.
However, four years later, none of the things he feared would happen actually did. He admits he was wrong.
Now the District 2 council member, Ferraro says he’s neutral on the idea of expanding bestbet’s gaming to include slot machines.
“I’m not for it or against it at this point,” he said, “but I am open to listening.”
He and other council members will do plenty of listening on the topic in the weeks ahead after Aaron Bowman introduced a bill Wednesday calling for a referendum to allow slots in Duval County at eligible facilities.
It would take council’s OK followed by voter approval and a favorable ruling in a case being heard by the Florida Supreme Court to make the proposition a reality.
But unlike last time when he was staunchly against the idea of gambling, Ferraro is ready to debate it.
He wants to hear how slot machines would impact the city budget, not just by how much but also where any revenue would be spent.
He also wants to hear from constituents. He knows many in his district are against gambling and they brought up the issue when he was running for office.
When it comes to numbers, a study done this month by the Innovation Group of New Orleans could be appealing to some council members and voters.
Estimates show adding slots in Duval County would provide the city $5.7 million annually and add 1,500 direct jobs, 1,300 indirect jobs and $123 million in annual payroll.
“This is important for me to know it’s not just some ‘smoke-and-mirrors’ type numbers,” said council member Aaron Bowman, who introduced the slots bill. “There is a method behind this.”
The bestbet facility is in council member Joyce Morgan’s Arlington district and, for now, she doesn’t have a problem with slots coming to Duval County.
Slots are common in her native Louisiana and prevalent in South Florida. She hasn’t had a bad experience with them.
Morgan had reservations about the facility opening in Arlington but those opinions changed when she visited the first time. It wasn’t “seedy” like she thought it would be — it was “very clean” and over the years the business has hosted and helped numerous charities, she said.
“They’ve been a good neighbor and a good corporate citizen for Arlington,” said Morgan.
The expansion for Arlington sounds promising, she said, and she will support the concept unless the community outcry is overwhelming. If it is, she’d reconsider.
Council member Reggie Gaffney said he supports adding slots because of the extra revenue and jobs the city would add.
What sold it for him was the promise of extra charitable giving by bestbet CEO Howard Korman — someone Gaffney said has already provided much to the community.
Not all council members will be on board, though.
Council member Doyle Carter said Thursday he wouldn’t support the expansion based on religious beliefs. Carter said he likes Korman, but he hasn’t supported gambling or alcohol-related business in his council career.
When he first ran for council in the late 1990s, he received a couple of checks from Korman, but ended up returning them. It wasn’t anything personal, he said. He just couldn’t do it.
The next step in the Florida Supreme Court case dealing with expanding slots is scheduled for June 7. That’s about the time when the full council will begin to start its debate on the issue after Bowman’s bill is introduced Tuesday.
For Ferraro, those discussions will bear out what direction he goes.
“Everything sounds great on paper,” he said.
But revenue and visions often are promised, Ferraro said, and often don’t happen the way they were pitched.
“I want to be real sure about it,” he said.
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