Internet cafe in Seminole County reopens

Less than a week after nine Internet cafes in Seminole County voluntarily shut their doors, oneof the businesses reopened Friday. The Allied Internet Center on State Road 436 near Hunt Club Boulevard near Apopka was open. Employees would not comment. But a sign on the locked door Tuesday read: “We’re updating our software and will reopen soon.” Seminole’s other Internet cafes remained closed Saturday. Most had similar signs on their front doors explaining the businesses were upgrading their computers. For the past two years, Seminole’s Internet cafes have been locked in a federal lawsuit with the county over the computer games that simulate gambling. The cafe owners say the computer games are sweepstakes and protected by the First Amendment. Seminole officials call it illegal gambling.