Most of the pre-Castro casinos in Cuba were owned by U.S. mobsters. Jake Kassels and Clifford Jones (CJ JK) were thrown out of Nevada in the late 1950's and went on to open casinos throughout the Caribbean in Puerto Rico, Aruba, St. Maarten, Curacao and Suriname. It is believed that they were bankrolled by the mob. Many of the early strip casinos, such as the Flamingo, had hidden ownership by the mob.