The Colony Sports Club was a London gambling casino operated by American
Cosa Nostra
The Sicilian Mafia or Cosa Nostra (, ; "our thing"), also referred to as simply Mafia, is a criminal society and criminal organization originating on the island of Sicily and dates back to the mid-19th century. Emerging as a form of local protect ...
mobsters
Meyer Lansky
Meyer Lansky (born Maier Suchowljansky; July 4, 1902 – January 15, 1983), known as the "Mob's Accountant", was an American organized crime figure who, along with his associate Lucky Luciano, Charles "Lucky" Luciano, was instrumental in the dev ...
and
boss
Angelo Bruno, through front man
George Raft
George Raft (né Ranft; September 26, 1901 – November 24, 1980) was an American film actor and dancer identified with portrayals of gangsters in crime melodramas of the 1930s and 1940s. A stylish leading man in dozens of movies, Raft is remembe ...
, and low-level English gambler Alfred Salkin, who Cellini had met at another large London casino, and was used as the English front man during the 1960s.
Following the end of syndicate gambling operations in
Havana
Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.[Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's London boroughs, 32 boroughs. Its name derives from the location of the original ...](_bl ...<br></span></div> by the Castro government in 1959, Lansky sought to expand his operations elsewhere. With the legalization of gambling in Great Britain, Lansky opened a number of high class gambling casinos with Bruno, including the Colony Sports Casino , Boxer koutsoudis throughout London during the early 1960s.
However, following an investigation by <div class=)
, a number of casino employees, such as New York mobster
Dino Cellini,
Joey Napolitano, Boston
Cosa Nostra
The Sicilian Mafia or Cosa Nostra (, ; "our thing"), also referred to as simply Mafia, is a criminal society and criminal organization originating on the island of Sicily and dates back to the mid-19th century. Emerging as a form of local protect ...
mobster
Richard Castucci and others were deported after finding evidence of rigging games as well as their ties to organized crime figures in New York.
Another,
George Raft
George Raft (né Ranft; September 26, 1901 – November 24, 1980) was an American film actor and dancer identified with portrayals of gangsters in crime melodramas of the 1930s and 1940s. A stylish leading man in dozens of movies, Raft is remembe ...
, was not allowed to return to the UK after leaving for a holiday in the US.
References
*Sifakis, Carl. ''The Mafia Encyclopedia''. New York: Da Capo Press, 2005. {{ISBN, 0-8160-5694-3
Casinos in London