A week in, campaign battle between Sam Page and Phil Berger over NC casinos heats up
One week in, the primary fight between Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page and Senate leader Phil Berger is intensifying.
The issue at hand — the effort by Berger and other GOP lawmakers to open the state to more casinos in 2023, and the future of any casino or other gambling legislation after the proposal was shelved — has been one of the main points of contention between Page and Berger. Page announced last week that he is challenging the powerful lawmaker for his Senate seat next year.
Earlier this week, Berger told reporters that he isn’t working on any casino legislation and it isn’t “something that will see the light of day as far as the legislative session we’re in.”
Page, who joined local residents from Berger’s home county in speaking against the proposal at the General Assembly two years ago, said Thursday he’s skeptical that the issue is fully off the table.
He also questioned whether the door closing on casinos meant that additional gambling legislation, such as a proposal to legalize and regulate tens of thousands of video lottery terminals, also referred to as video gambling machines, was being ruled out as well.
“As long as the legislature is in session, everything’s on the table,” Page told The News & Observer on Thursday.
Page said he heard “rumbling” late last year about the possibility of VLT legislation being taken up again this year.
A standalone VLT bill proposed by Rep. Harry Warren was heard by a House committee in 2023, before lawmakers shifted their focus to a gambling bill that included both casinos and VLTs.
Page questions if lawmakers will revisit video gambling next
As an opponent of any further expansion of state-sanctioned gambling, Page said VLTs are often described as a “lesser form of gambling,” but present the same kinds of concerns about crime and other issues that motivated people to speak out against casinos.
Page also said that if any additional gambling legislation is considered, lawmakers should take it up as a standalone bill that goes through the committee process, and receives public comment, instead of trying to include it in the state budget.
“When you have controversial legislation and you fail to include the people that you serve, your bosses, and allow them input on what could be coming to their community, I think you’re doing a disservice to the citizens,” Page said.
The proposal that failed to secure enough support to move forward in 2023 would have authorized up to four new casinos, three of them on non-tribal land, and tens of thousands of video lottery terminals across the state, to be regulated under the lottery commission.
Berger and other GOP lawmakers who wanted to authorize additional casinos said opponents of the plan were ignoring how much rural counties could stand to benefit from the revenue and jobs that major casinos and other commercial developments would create.
But opposition to the proposal, and its potential inclusion in the state budget, grew among both Democrats and Republicans. In the end, 30 House Republicans said they wouldn’t support a GOP budget that included casinos.
Berger’s campaign responds to Page’s concerns about casinos
Page said that two years later, he believes there continues to be opposition to expanding gambling among GOP lawmakers. He said lawmakers shouldn’t be looking to increase revenues by promoting a “predatory business,” adding that there are many other kinds of businesses the state could pursue for economic development.
“I’d hate to see North Carolina be considered an East Coast-Las Vegas,” he said.
Page also questioned whether Berger and other lawmakers should have accepted campaign contributions from anyone in the casino or video gambling industries.
More than two dozen state lawmakers, including top GOP leaders like Berger and former House Speaker Tim Moore, received tens of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from gambling interests between January 2022 and March 2024, Carolina Public Press reported last year.
On top of around $1.1 million in direct contributions to candidates and parties, gambling industry executives donated another $2.1 million to GOPAC and the Republican State Leadership Committee, CPP reported, citing an analysis of state and federal campaign reports by longtime government accountability advocate Bob Hall.
Page said he encourages constituents of lawmakers who received contributions from the gambling industry to “ask where they stand on this type of revenue source.”
“Is this what you really want for North Carolina, I’d ask that question,” Page said. “And, another thing is, if you took money from gaming lobbyists, stuff like this, are you willing to give it back?”
In response to a question about Page’s comments regarding campaign contributions, Berger’s campaign said that Page had changed his position on the casino issue.
“When the casino proposal was originally brought up, Senator Berger called Sam Page to discuss it. Sam Page expressed no opposition to a casino then — and his only concern was a desire for more money for the sheriff if a casino was ever built,” campaign spokesman Dylan Watts said in a statement.
“Unlike Sam Page, Senator Berger is neither a liar, nor a political opportunist. And unlike Sam Page, when Senator Berger says something, voters can believe it,” Watts said. “Senator Berger said there won’t be legislation authorizing a casino in Rockingham County. Period.”
Page responded to Berger’s campaign by saying, “While I have been a longtime opponent of casinos in Rockingham County, even going as far as to lead a protest at the state legislature in 2023, Senator Berger’s support for casinos speaks for itself.”
Asked if Berger would support any other gambling legislation, including on VLTs, a spokeswoman for his office referred The N&O to his campaign’s statement.
This story was originally published February 21, 2025 at 11:20 AM.
