Daily Record FINANCIAL NEWS &
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2017
VOL. 104, NO. 209 • ONE SECTION
Harvey sends Landstar higher
35¢
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INTERNET CAFÉS:
THEY’RE BACK
Investors expect company to profit from recovery effort. Certainly, Wall Street traders had some sympathy watching the devastating impact of Hurricane Harvey on the Houston area. However, that doesn’t stop them from taking advantage of an opportunity. One industry that likely will profit from the storm’s aftermath is trucking, because of the need to transport supplies and equipment to the affected areas. Jacksonville-based Landstar System Inc., which has been called on for hurricane relief efforts in the past, is one of a handful of trucking companies seen as having the capacity to handle the Harvey recovery. That sentiment sent Landstar’s stock to a record high last week. After rising $6.20 over three trading days to $88, Landstar jumped as much as $5.30 on Wednesday alone to a record high of $93.30. It reached a new high of $94.60 Friday. Stephens analyst Jack Atkins upgraded his rating of Landstar from “equal weight” to “overweight” Wednesday. Atkins said the hurricane impact was not “core” to his analysis of Landstar, but he did address the impact in his research note. “Historically when a hurricane makes landfall in the U.S., Landstar’s stock reacts positively given the company’s flatbed business and the expectation for additional flatbed capacity needs to remove debris and also transport supplies for the rebuilding/ recovery effort,” he said. Landstar’s stock has risen in the two months following 13 of the last 14 major hurricanes or large tropical storms to make landfall in the U.S., Atkins said, BASCH
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Skill or chance? This Skill Master machine was found in a Jacksonville business commonly called an Internet café. While games of skill are legal in Florida, games of chance, like slot machines, are not. How those rules are interpreted is the focus of at least one lawsuit in Florida.
Shut down in 2013, the businesses offering cash prizes have returned, upsetting some city leaders. By David Cawton Staff Writer Internet cafés are making a comeback in Jacksonville. With names such as Lucky Strike, Sweeps Royale and Big Chances, the cafés offer prizes for playing games of skill or for entering a sweepstakes in exchange for buying prepaid internet time. They’re also known as “adult arcade amusement centers,” according to city code, and often are found in low-income neighborhoods and aging strip malls. The internet cafés are returning after the Florida Legislature in 2013 adopted new regulations in the wake of the shutdown of 49 Allied Veterans of the World internet cafés. Also fueling their comeback is an unresolved 2015 lawsuit in which the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation
is challenging a computer game system licensed to Jacksonville-based Gator Coin II Inc. Since March 2016, at least 118 internet café businesses have applied to the city for a Certificate of Use. The city has approved 38 certificates and denied 80 for noncompliance with the building code or fire code. COUNCIL MEMBERS SAY ‘GO AWAY’
City Council members are taking note. At least three City Council members don’t want them. Katrina Brown, District 8, Reginald Brown, District 10, and Scott Wilson, District 4, have questioned the legality of the businesses. “I’d prefer to have them out of our city,” said Wilson. “They’re not a positive thing, that’s for sure.” INTERNET
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50 Years Ago This week
City’s first women council members announce election plans. PUBLIC
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