Ingram Alleges Harassment From WSOP Phone Charger Salesmen, Owner Disputes
Players walking down the halls of the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino may have experienced “aggressive” sales techniques from salespeople at the cell phone and charging booths. In the first week of action at the Rio, however, some in the poker community have claimed to experience even more – sexual harassment.
Joe Ingram's YouTube Video
Poker player Joey Ingram addressed the situation in a YouTube video on Monday.
“The cell phone charger and headphone salespeople at the Rio World Series of Poker 2018 must be stopped.”
“The cell phone charger and headphone salespeople at the Rio World Series of Poker 2018 must be stopped,” he said. “The verbal and sexual harassment that has been going on for these first few days of the World Series of Poker 2018 cannot go on any longer. Anyone that’s been at the World Series of Poker this year or in recent years has had to deal with these annoying-ass cell phone charger, cell phone salespeople in the hallway constantly yelling about their cell phone chargers.”
According to Ingram, several women have expressed that they’ve been sexually harassed by the sales people and that he has witnessed those actions personally. He said the men have commented to women about how “sexy they think you are” and make comments about a woman’s body. Some women have expressed they tried to go down different halls to avoid the booths.
Poker player Kristy Arnett expressed her own experience with the vendors in a comment to his video.
Kristy Arnett wrote
“I actually just left the Rio feeling super uncomfortable from these dudes. It feels bad, honestly, but sadly, I didn't think much of it. Just kept walking. Thank you for saying something.”
There two of the booths, and Ingram said the vendors mock players who don’t stop and hear their sales pitch.
“This is the World Series of Poker, and we should not allow this constant harassment every single time you walk down the hallway about buying a damn phone charger from these people,” Ingram said.
Ingram said it’s not a good representation of the poker world for new players and visitors to experience and said the men were even yelling down the halls.
He also alleged the company uses a phony website to show their products at much higher prices, in comparison to the price they are offering players in the Rio. That site has links that don’t work, he said, and offers no real way to purchase them online according to Ingram.
The same products, he says, can be found on other sites without the branding at much lower prices.
Further, Ingram points viewers to a Yelp page allegedly linked to the company that shows poor reviews for the products believed to have been purchased at the booths.
“Basically it’s just negative review after negative review after negative review,” he says.
Ingram believes the WSOP should protect players from these sales techniques and also from products that have caused so many complaints.
WSOP Response
WSOP officials said they don’t have authority to get rid of employees of another company, but they are monitoring the situation and warned the company about aggressive sales techniques.
“We have a zero-tolerance policy regarding sexual harassment.”
“We have a zero-tolerance policy regarding sexual harassment,” said Seth Panasky, Caesars vice president of corporate communications. “We would use our rights in our contract to terminate the relationship.”
So far, Palansky said they have received no formal complaints regarding sexual harassment and encourages those who feel they have been, to reach out to Rio security personnel.
“We would take any complaints seriously,” he said. “If anyone has had or has an issue, they should immediately report it to any security team member in a yellow shirt, and it would be handled from there following company protocols.
“We have spoken to the company and made them aware of the allegations and have put them on notice. We are adding additional surveillance coverage as well in this area to have additional eyes.”
iGadget Planet Owner Response
PokerNews spoke with iGadget Planet owner Mark Agarunov Tuesday afternoon about the allegations. He denied that charges of sexual harassment from his employees and said players are given a warranty for all products.
“It’s lies, 100 percent,” he said of the video and harassment claims. “If one of my employees did something wrong, then I will be happy to place a report with the police about it.”
Agarunov said he and his manager are on site during the WSOP 100 percent of the time and have not witnessed sexual comments or harassment. He noted that Ingram’s video has 800 likes and 2,000 dislikes.
“It’s lies, 100 percent.”
On his salespeople using aggressive tactics, Agarunov said: “Aggressive maybe, and we’ve taken action about that. We’ve spoken with our employees and are trying to be less aggressive. We’re trying to control everything the right way. But about sexual harassment … no sexual harassment.”
The owner said Ingram had pointed out some products that were from 2010 and stood by the products that his company was selling. iGadget Planet has been selling in the halls for four years, and Agarunov said he’s considering legal action against Ingram for his video.
“Most people are happy with the products,” Agarunov said.
He added that the salespeople have been warned not to yell or raise their voices anymore in the halls and have toned down their sales techniques.
On Tuesday, salespeople seemed quieter behind the counters.
Response From the Poker Community
As of Tuesday, the video had been viewed more than 164,000 views with considerable support among those commenting. The number of dislikes, at the time of writing over 2,000, and the large amount of views is the result of a bot network initiated by the booth owner, Ingram claims on Twitter.
After his video, Ingram received considerable support on social media from other players; pleased he had brought up the topic.
Ingram noted: “It’s going over the edge from what I’ve witnessed and a little embarrassing.”
Robbie Strazynski of CardPlayerLifeStyle.com interviewed some of the vendors in WSOP's hallway last year. That article can be found here.
Sean Chaffin is a freelance writer in Crandall, Texas. His work appears in numerous websites and publications. Follow him on Twitter @PokerTraditions. He is also the host of the True Gambling Stories podcast, available on iTunes, Google Play, TuneIn Radio, Spotify, Stitcher, PokerNews.com, HoldemRadio.com, and TrueGamblingStories.com.
