R. Allen Stanford sure could draw an impressive crowd.

During the Democratic National Convention in August, Stanford hosted a high-profile cocktail party in downtown Denver that drew such notables as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.

The crowd, which numbered several hundred, also included foreign ambassadors and local business bigwigs.

"All the players in the Democratic Party were there," said one attendee, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he has ties to one of Stanford's companies. "He also gave a short speech, saying that we were in a period of change, that we have to find new ways to move humanity forward."

The cocktail party is one of several ties embattled Texas financier Stanford has with Colorado. On Tuesday, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil lawsuit against Stanford, several companies he controls and two colleagues, claiming they misled investors while selling $8 billion in certificates from an affiliated bank in Antigua.

One of his companies - Stanford Group Co. - set up shop here more than a decade ago and has space in the Wells Fargo Center at 1700 Lincoln St. The office closed Tuesday as a result of the government's charges, and observers say it's unlikely to reopen.

It's unclear how many clients Stanford Group has in Colorado, but observers say there's probably a fair number, given the company's presence here. Those clients are in for a heavy dose of uncertainty and worry, as the government has frozen the assets of Stanford and his companies.

Clients "are not going to be able to access any of their money right now," and it's unclear how much they'll be able to get back, said Randy Pulman, a lawyer in Texas who represents an individual with $1 million invested with a Stanford company.

"People shouldn't get their hopes up and they shouldn't fall into despair. They should gather up all the documents that they have and go talk to a lawyer," he said.

Stanford has another, somewhat odd connection to Colorado. Early last year, he spent $3.5 million in an effort to transform Fort Collins into a city of cricket fanatics, hoping to prove that his beloved sport could gain a toehold in the United States.

Stanford has a well-known affinity for cricket, which is somewhat like baseball. He started a popular cricket tournament in the Caribbean, bankrolled his own team and often touted his dreams of making the sport popular worldwide.

The effort in Fort Collins included parties with free food and prizes, billboard advertisements and pamphlets, and some promotional work by former Colorado State University football coach Sonny Lubick. Local bars showed international cricket matches on TV, and organizers ended it all with a street party.

"Everybody initially thought 'what the heck is cricket?' " said Lubick, who agreed to join the campaign on a limited basis because it pumped money into the city's economy. "But people came out for these events, and most who went seemed to think it was kinda fun. I remember seeing advertisements all around town."

The results, however, were dubious.

"It seemed to work temporarily, but in my opinion the interest didn't really take hold," said Terri Suber, bar manager at CB & Potts Fort Collins, which hosted some of the viewing parties. "We were all just scratching our heads at the time, wondering who would spend that kind of money" on this type of marketing campaign.