The Colony Sports Club was a London gambling casino operated by American

Cosa Nostra The Sicilian Mafia, also simply known as the Mafia and frequently referred to as Cosa nostra (, ; "our thing") by its members, is an Italian Mafia-terrorist-type organized crime syndicate and criminal society originating in the region of Sicily ...

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 Charles "Lucky" Luciano, was instrumental in the development of the ...

and

Philadelphia crime family The Philadelphia crime family, also known as the Philadelphia Mafia, the Philly Mob or Philly Mafia, the Philadelphia-South Jersey Mafia, or Bruno-Scarfo family is an Italian-American Mafia family based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Formed and ...

boss

Angelo Bruno Angelo Bruno (born Angelo Annaloro; ; (May 21, 1910 – March 21, 1980) was a Sicilian-American mobster, notable for being boss of the Philadelphia crime family for two decades until his assassination. Bruno was known as "the Gentle Don" due to ...

, through front man George Raft, 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 (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

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, throughout London during the early 1960s. However, following an investigation by Scotland Yard, a number of casino employees, such as New York mobster

Dino Cellini Dino Cellini, (November 19, 1914 – November 2, 1978) ran casinos for New York mobster Meyer Lansky in Havana, Cuba during the late 1950s and early 1960s. Cellini later ran casinos in the Bahamas and the United Kingdom. Early years Dino Vic ...

, Joey Napolitano, Boston

mobster

Richard Castucci Richard J. Castucci Sr. (December 1, 1928 – December 29, 1976) was an American member of the Patriarca crime family who owned several strip clubs and was involved in illegal gambling. Castucci eventually became a government informant. Early li ...

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, 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 England