John Aspinall (zoo owner)

Aspinall later went to Jesus College, Oxford, but on the day of his final exams he feigned illness and went to the Gold Cup at Ascot racecourse instead.

With his Irish-born accountant John Burke, Aspinall rented upper class flats and houses, never used them more than three times, and had his mother pay off local Metropolitan Police officers.

Among the gamblers were the Queen's racehorse trainer Bernard van Cutsem,[9] who brought with him friends including the Earl of Derby and the Duke of Devonshire.

The win created a vast increase in Chemie games, during which: In response to Aspinall's win in court, the British Government brought forward the Betting and Gaming Act 1960, which when enacted allowed commercial bingo halls to be set up, provided they were established as members-only clubs and made their profit from membership fees and charges, and not from a percentage of the money staked.

Casinos were required to operate under the same rules, with a licence from the Gaming Board of Great Britain (now the Gambling Commission), and to be members-only.

Overheads were higher, and under the new laws, Aspinall was required to pay tax, only making a table charge which produced much smaller revenue for the house.

[9] In Douglas Thompson's book The Hustlers, and the later documentary on Channel 4, The Real Casino Royale, the club's former financial director John Burke and gangster Billy Hill's associate John McKew, claimed that Aspinall worked with Hill to employ criminals to cheat the players.

[7] The need for revenue to support his zoos prompted Aspinall to return to running gambling clubs in London, and he set up two new successful ones in Knightsbridge (in 1978) and Mayfair.

[7][11] In his years at Oxford, Aspinall had loved the book Nada the Lily by H. Rider Haggard, about an illegitimate Zulu prince who lived outside his tribe among wild animals.

[7] Later that year, with proceeds from his gambling, Aspinall purchased Howletts country house and estate near Canterbury, Kent.

He embarked on a 10-year programme to restore Port Lympne Mansion previously owned by Sir Philip Sassoon.

[13] Aspinall ran unsuccessfully for Parliament at the 1997 general election as the candidate of Sir James Goldsmith's single-issue (against Britain's involvement in the European Union) Referendum Party in the Folkestone and Hythe constituency, where he was defeated by senior Conservative Michael Howard.

In private, Aspinall would express antisemitic views, including hatred towards Jews, and an admiration for Adolf Hitler.

In Douglas Thompson's book The Hustlers former Clermont Club financial director John Burke states: It's amazing how much he owed to Jimmy Goldsmith and people like Sydney Summer.

[17]Aspinall claimed that Lord Lucan, whose 1974 disappearance remains unresolved, had committed suicide by scuttling his motorboat and jumping into the English Channel with a stone tied around his body.