Article content continued

But he’s not denying the rumour, either.

“Montreal is a sports town. It’s a vibrant town. There are a lot of really great things happening in the city,” Mr. Garber, 50, said. “There are still a lot of baseball fans in Montreal. There are businessmen who are fans. I think all of us share one thing in common, which is, we truly believe that Montreal is a major league city.”

There certainly are a lot of things that make sense about the rumour. Mr. Garber is a sports nut, a tireless champion of Montreal and, as CEO of a division of casino giant Caesars Entertainment Corp., not one to shy away from taking a bit of a gamble.

Mitch Melnick, a Montreal sports broadcaster with TSN 690, said Mr. Garber has certainly got the necessary ambition.

“Mitch Garber has enough energy to make coffee nervous,” Mr. Melnick said in an email. “He’s always dreamed big. He’s not done dreaming. And whatever he has and whatever he gets he will have earned.”

Like most die-hard sports fans, the roots of Mr. Garber’s love of sports go back to childhood. Growing up in the ‘70s, he has fond memories of going to Canadiens games with his father and later, Expos games with his wife and older son.

Mr. Garber grew up to become a television and radio sportscaster in the ‘90s, while also practising law. His role model was Howard Cosell, an American sports journalist known for his confident and confrontational style who also worked as both a lawyer and a broadcaster.