Time's up for adult arcades in Jacksonville.
Sunday at 11:59 p.m. marked the deadline for the businesses to shut down, several months ahead of Feb. 1, 2020, the date they were originally told to cease operations.
Dewayne Williams is the operator of Copa and Cabana, two adult arcades off Normandy Boulevard. Both are open 24 hours.
"We have 700 people coming in every day," Williams said. "That was a name we started out with years ago with sweepstakes. We give you a card. You take your card, and you go to the orange box. You put money on the card, then you play. If you win, you get paid. It's not a slot machine by any means. It's not really gambling, if you get down to it, because that's how the sweepstakes rule reads. They are not even close to slots. They are not gambling."
Williams said between the two game rooms, he has 18 employees. All were without jobs as of midnight.
For the rest of the story and a video report, see the expanded version of this report on News4Jax.com.