Hours before Councillor Ana Bailao was arrested for impaired driving, she was seen heading to a downtown lounge with the two lead lobbyists for a casino company and the councillor who chairs the board of Exhibition Place — MGM’s preferred site for a casino.

The Star was not able to confirm whether the group arrived at the lounge, although two of Bailao’s friends on council say she was there before her arrest. Another individual who represents a rival American casino company in Toronto said he was invited by the group as they left the Mayor’s Ball for the Arts around 10 p.m.

According to this individual, that group included Jamie Besner and Kim Wright, two lobbyists from Sussex Strategy Group who work on behalf of MGM; Nick Kouvalis, who has been hired by Sussex to do research and polling for MGM’s casino bid; and the two councillors.

Both Besner and Wright registered to lobby Bailao and Councillor Mark Grimes on Oct. 15, the day of the arts ball.

When asked about going to the Thompson Hotel lounge afterwards with the councillors, Besner responded in an email: “My registry covers any conversations that I had with any officials regarding MGM on that day. I had no conversations with any city officials that required registry on October 16th … I had no role as a lobbyist after the Mayor’s arts ball. I was on my own personal time the rest of the evening.”

In being questioned about the after-party, Besner was shown a possible guest list of names that included Kouvalis, himself, MGM officials and the two councillors. In his emailed response, he wrote: “There were no MGM officials at the Thompson Hotel that night.”

Besner, a former executive assistant to a city councillor and one of the most prominent lobbyists at city hall, said that, “Out of respect to Councillor Bailao’s current circumstance, I don’t think it is appropriate for me to comment any further on this matter.”

Tracked down at city hall Tuesday evening, Wright, Besner’s colleague, had no comment to make. “You spoke with the principal of my company and that’s the appropriate protocol from our office,” she said.

Neither Kouvalis nor Bailao responded, over two days, to numerous requests for comment relating to this subject.

Councillor Grimes also said that, “out of respect for Ana,” he would not comment on details of that night, but said he was “not out with MGM specifically.”

Asked about the optics of socializing with casino lobbyists while chairing the Exhibition Place board, Grimes said he had no comment. “You weren’t there, so I mean, you know, you weren’t there, you weren’t where I was, so you have no idea, and I tell you, I have no comment.”

In the early hours of Oct. 16, just hours after leaving the mayor’s art ball at the Metro Toronto Convention, Bailao was arrested and charged with impaired driving.

A police source said the councillor was spotted driving north on Bathurst St. without her lights on. When a 14 Division officer attempted to pull her over, she did not initially stop, said the source.

The Ward 18, Davenport, councillor was charged with impaired driving and driving with 80 mg of alcohol in her system per 100 ml of blood. Her court date was set for Dec. 3.

Bailao said she intends to plead not guilty.

City councillors are expected to decide the casino issue early next year, in a vote expected to be close. As a centrist councillor, Bailao’s vote is highly coveted.

Some councillors are enticed by the potential revenue the city could earn by allowing a casino to be built within Toronto’s borders. Mayor Rob Ford has predicted the city could stand to make as much as $100 million annually. Other councillors are concerned about the social consequences around crime and gambling addiction.

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Three downtown locations have been floated so far, with Exhibition Place being a preferred site.

Thompson Hotel manager Diogo Prado said the hotel is not commenting.