Can you write a show if rule for LIKE? Can you have 2 session variables on one page, one inside the other?

This obviously works
<?php
if ("" . $WADAtbl_directorylistings->getColumnVal("salesrep") . "" == 'SB' ) {
?>
<input type="button" class="formButton ResultsPageButton unstyled UpdateButton" value="" onclick="document.location.href='user-update.php?id=<?php echo($WADAtbl_directorylistings->getColumnVal("id")); ?>';"/>
<input type="button" class="formButton ResultsPageButton unstyled DeleteButton" value="" onclick="document.getElementById('WADADeleteRecordID').value=<?php echo($WADAtbl_directorylistings->getColumnVal("id")); ?>;document.getElementById('deleteBox').style.display = 'block';document.getElementById('deleteMessage').style.display = 'table';" />
<?php
}
?>

I tried this
$WADAtbl_directorylistings->getColumnVal("salesrep") . "" == '%SB'

I just need SB, SBEB, SBJJ - so any of those combinations in the sale rep field will validate access.
If I cannot do LIKE, maybe elseif - I don't know how to write the else if, so is that is what I should do, can you please send me an example.

Also I want the user id of 9068 to have access to all the buttons via session ID, but I am already restricting the content of the page with the session accesslevel and the buttons are obviously within the content. Does it work to 'nest' session variable restrictions?

Thank you!