this fall, that any winning bid ensure a certain number of young people from troubled neighbourhoods get apprentice construction opportunities, similar to his unions’ Hammer Heads Program.

“We’ve seen the rash of gang violence and murders — this could help fight that,” St. John said.

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THE PLAYERS

The players in the race for the right to build a casino-resort in the GTA:

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MGM Resorts International

The player: Owns or has a stake in: the Bellagio, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay and Mirage in Las Vegas; casinos in Mississippi, Michigan and Illinois and a casino-resort in Macau, China.

The bid: MGM was first to express strong interest in Toronto and, so far, has been the most aggressive in trying to win support for a multi-billion-dollar casino/resort complex, likely at Exhibition Place.

CaesarsEntertainment

The player: Operator of more than 40 casinos and casino-resorts in the U.S., Canada and other countries, including Caesars Palace, Bally’s Las Vegas, Flamingo Las Vegas, Harrah’s Las Vegas and Caesars Windsor.

The bid: Showing strong interest in Toronto but taking pains to listen to provincial and city officials before laying out a specific vision or location. Is playing up its Canadian experience in Windsor and saying it will consider a non-Toronto GTA location.

Las Vegas Sands

The player: Developer of “integrated resorts” best known in Vegas for The Venetian and The Palazzo, but has enjoyed success outside the U.S. with the The Sands Macao and lavish Marina Bay Sands resort in Singapore. CEO Sheldon Adelson is in the news as a big Republican donor who fights attempts to unionize his