AN AMERICAN company seeking to open one of Britain’s first Las Vegas-style casinos is offering to spend £3m on an academy that would train croupiers as part of its bid.

MGM-Mirage is targeting Sheffield in a move that would provide an economic boost for the city that has Richard Caborn, the gaming law minister, and David Blunkett, the home secretary, as two of its MPs.

The group is proposing that the £3m would be spent on training people for the 1,500 jobs to be created in the casino complex — not only croupiers but also restaurant and security staff.

Other casino developers have offered millions in inducements to councils. Caesars International has come under fire after offering Manchester city council a percentage of its profits in return for permission to build a casino.

MGM-Mirage says it has always set up academies close to its casinos in Las Vegas. Rebecca Burns, who works for the company there, said it provided numeracy and literacy lessons as well as training for specific jobs.

“We want to employ local people. Someone who wanted to be a croupier might need intensive training on the tables to learn blackjack and roulette,” she said.

The government insists that job creation and inner-city regeneration are behind its plans to relax gaming laws to allow more casinos. However, Tessa Jowell, the culture secretary, has bowed to criticism that casinos will fuel gambling addiction and lead to an increase in crime. She has decided to restrict the number of large regional casinos to eight.

The Salvation Army is opposed to the Sheffield plans. Jonathan Lomax, its spokesman, said: “The new casino may bring economic benefits to those it employs, but this could be coupled with severe social consequences, including family breakdown and an increase in debt.”

Sheffield council refused to comment because it had not yet received a formal planning application from MGM-Mirage.

However, a government source said: “The casino developers are all positioning themselves with generous offers. They have to be treated with a pinch of salt.”

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