In North Carolina, a controversial proposal to open four casinos is holding up passing the long-delayed $30 billion 2023-2025 budget bill.
The News & Observer reported House Speaker Tim Moore recently informed his GOP colleagues that out of the 120-member House, “there are not 61 Republicans willing to vote for the budget if it includes gaming.”
In June, soon after Governor Roy Cooper signed a bill legalizing sports betting, GOP leaders indicated they might support expanding casino gambling to help North Carolina compete with neighboring Virginia, where several temporary new casinos have opened ahead of permanent facilities.
The House GOP caucus has held several meetings to discuss the gambling proposal; the latest focused on passing the budget “without gaming,” Moore said. The budget originally was supposed to pass in June.
Meanwhile, Senate majority leader Phil Berger said the casino proposal either would advance by being included in the budget or it will be dropped. As he stated previously, a standalone bill is unlikely to pass this session.
A casino gambling proponent, Berger told WUNC, “One of the things that convinced me it’s the right thing to do was the idea that these entertainment areas, rural tourism areas, are things that provide a boost to the economy in counties that a boost has not been forthcoming. For me anyway, the idea of a commitment for an investment of at least $1.5 billion, job creation of at least 5,200 jobs, with no taxpayer dollars going into it, just struck me as kind of a sweet spot if we’re going to authorize additional gaming.”
Berger added he has the requisite votes to move the budget with the gaming proposal to Governor Roy Cooper. Berger said Moore has been “moving the goalpost” for deciding whether or not to include casinos in the budget. “I believe that House leadership needs to live up to its commitments. The budget is a series of compromises,” Berger said, per WUNC.
Even if the House and Senate end up including the casinos in the budget, Cooper’s support isn’t a given. He told WUNC, “I’ve said before that this is an issue that should be decided outside of the budget. It shouldn’t be holding up a budget that can help move the state forward, that’s for sure. It’s outrageous that casinos alone are holding up the entire state budget. It’s holding up investments in our public schools, health care and mental health, law enforcement, state employees and community colleges. It’s wrong. Republicans put gambling ahead of life-saving health care for hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians.”
Many residents of Rockingham, Nash and Anson counties, three of the four selected casino sites, have protested hosting a casino. Recently, a group from Rockingham and Nash counties traveled to Raleigh to urge GOP lawmakers to reject the plan. A fourth proposed southeastern site would be operated by the Lumbee Tribe.
The protest followed Rockingham County Board of Commissioners unanimously approving rezoning 192 acres adjacent to a camp for disabled children; the land is owned by a company said to be associated with the Cornish Companies.
Asked what would happen if casinos end up being included in the budget and the budget ultimately doesn’t pass, Berger responded, “I don’t know that anybody can say what happens at that point.”
Also in North Carolina, the Roanoke Rapids planning board recommended that the Roanoke Rapids City Council approve an amendment to a land-use ordinance to permit casinos in the Carolina Crossroads Music and Entertainment District. The land-use amendment, requested by Caridia Capital Group, would allow the city to be selected as a site for a casino, if state lawmakers pass a bill allowing casinos in Tier 1 counites.
Planning board Chairman Sherry Mills said Halifax County, where the district is located, is situated “to do really well with this type of facility. I think it could bring a lot of revenue and so forth.” She said North Carolinians are traveling to Danville, Virginia to game at the temporary casino there.
“They’re spending the night. All the income and jobs that are created, it’s a very impressive package as to what this possibility could bring,” she told news site RRspin.
Roanoke Rapids attorney Bill White, representing Carida Group, noted, “This means if the legislature approves casinos then we may be in the running for one. What we’re asking today is not costing the city one nickel. This is going to be done by outside business investors that are going to commit $25 million to apply. If that doesn’t cut away the fly-by-nights and whatever else, I don’t know what else does.”
Planning board member Gregory Browning told RRspin, “When we transitioned from a textile mill community, it was a traumatic experience to this area. The city looked for ways to diversify. If we’re not putting ourselves in a position where we could at least be considered for this type of prosperity, then we’re not buying a ticket to the lottery. It’s not costing the city or its taxpayers at this juncture any tax money. It’s a win-win when I look at it.”
