Timeline of a high-stakes campaign to open North Carolina to the casino industry
North Carolina has long banned casino gambling, with prohibitions – some dating back to the 1790s – still on the books. In 2021, a Baltimore-based developer launched quiet campaigns to build casinos in three North Carolina counties.
Read more News & Observer reporting on the failed push here: newsobserver.com/topics/power-secrecy
September 2021 Cordish registers two lobbyists in North Carolina, former state Commerce Secretary Tony Copeland and Drew Moretz, a former UNC System vice president, adding six more in 2023 as lawmakers considered casino legislation.
November 2022 Republican state lawmakers begin receiving campaign donations connected to casino developer Cordish Companies over a period of several weeks. Cordish also gives $50,000 to the Republican State Leadership Committee, which aids GOP state legislative candidates.
January 2023 The Differentiators, a consulting company led by two former top staffers of Senate leader Phil Berger, surveys North Carolina voters on their attitudes toward gambling. Lawmakers aren’t likely to be punished for supporting gambling legislation if profits help cut taxes or fund public services, it concludes.
Feb. 13, 2023 Anson County Commissioner Jamie Caudle’s campaign pays The Differentiators $14,491.56 for political consulting in a county where commissioner races rarely cost more than several thousand dollars.
March 22, 2023 Greater Carolina, a nonprofit created by a former Republican House leader aide, posts on its website a market analysis of the profit potential of three casinos in North Carolina – one in Anson, Nash and Rockingham counties. Berger lives in Rockingham County.
March 31, 2023 Anson County Manager Len Sossamon and Cordish lobbyist Zach Almond, a Differentiators “team member,” discuss plans to visit Cordish’s Baltimore-area casino. Almond and Jim Blaine, The Differentiators co-founder, had met days earlier with Sossamon and Caudle to discuss the casino.
April 11, 2023 N.C. Development Holdings, a Cordish subsidiary, strikes an option to buy land off I-95 in Nash County, later revealed as a potential site for one of the three casinos. One landowner says talks began nearly a year earlier with a Cordish lobbyist.
April 14, 2023 Almond takes Anson County officials to the Cordish casino where they stay overnight. Sossamon and at least two county commissioners go on the trip, which wasn’t made public.
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May 18, 2023 Caudle talks about casino plans and possible legislative actions in closed session at an Anson County Economic Development Corporation meeting, minutes show.
June 19, 2023 Rockingham County commissioners unanimously approve zoning changes that could allow for casinos, WRAL reveals.
July 20, 2023 Berger reveals plans for legislation for casinos in the three counties, as well as one for the Lumbee Indians. Rep. Jarrod Lowery, a Robeson County Republican and Lumbee member, tells The Border Belt Independent legislative leaders “hope” the casino legislation would be in the state budget.
July 28, 2023 Responding to some public opposition, Nash County commissioners pass a resolution asking state lawmakers to let county residents vote on allowing a casino there via a referendum.
Sept. 5, 2023 Texts between Almond and Sossamon show the Cordish lobbyist put pressure on Rep. Mark Brody, a Republican who represents Anson County. Almond includes Brody’s cell number and says: “I’m getting everyone to text him asking for his vote.”
Sept. 7, 2023 Donald Trump Jr. jumps into the debate, criticizing closed-door efforts to place language expanding legal gambling into the budget. “What’s going on in NC?” he tweets. “Outrageous. Shady back room deals and crony capitalism are not the path to #MAGA!”
Sept. 19, 2023 Reporting by WRAL reveals that Rocky Mount city counselors and the Nash County board of commissioners chairman had been informed of Cordish’s casino plans as far back as a year previous and signed non-disclosure agreements. That same day, legislative leaders say they’ve given up on passing any casino legalization.
Oct. 21, 2023 Sossamon, the Anson County manager, texts Almond asking for language in the draft casino legalization bill that would make planned county zoning changes compatible. Almond directs him to Differentiators co-founder Blaine.
June 17, 2024 A Rockingham County casino opponent sues three commissioners, accusing them of making false statements that cost him a commissioner primary candidate election. The lawsuit prompts the release of Anson County records that show Cordish’s previously private activities there.
Feb. 4, 2025 Anson County, at Caudle’s urging, hires Almond’s lobbying firm to represent the county under a $5,000-a-month contract. The vote is 4-3, with opponents concerned that no other lobbyists were considered.
May 7, 2025 Citing opposition in his home county, Berger reiterates that he now opposes allowing casinos in the state in a written statement to The News & Observer. Berger is facing an anti-casino candidate in the 2026 Republican primary.
This story was originally published May 9, 2025 at 5:00 AM.