I’m reading an excellent book by Shawn Levy called “Ready, Steady, Go! Swinging London and the Invention of Cool.”

One of the chapters is about the meteoric rise of The Beatles to superstardom in the mid 60’s and their subsequent
move from Liverpool to London. There’s a section in this chapter which describes Beatles manager Brian Epstein’s
gambling habits in London, circa 1963-1964.

I’ll quote a couple interesting passages…

“As in the American Las Vegas, there was a criminal element inherent in even the top-flight London casinos.
Esmeralda’s Barn in Knightsbridge, for one, was operated openly by the East End’s notorious Kray brothers,
who simply muscled their way into partnership with the founding owner. The Colony Sporting Club in Berkeley
Square, where George Raft was house shill and greeter, was so obviously mob-connected – on both sides of
the Atlantic – that the place was kept under scrupulous watch by authorities and Raft himself was denied
readmittance to the U.K. after he attempted to return from a trip home.”

“But Epstein’s tastes in gambling weren’t so declasse or dangerous. He played at the Curzon House, off Park
Lane, at Crockford’s, overlooking the Mall, and especially at John Aspinall’s Clermont Club, also in Berkeley
Square, above Annabel’s nightclub.”