26 May
The poker world woke up this morning to a massive storm, with cash game pro, Dr. Jaclynn Moskow, posting allegations of “abhorrent and inexcusable behavior” involving members of the Poker Night in America production team.
On her blog entitled Racism & Sexual Harassment: The Reality of my Experience on Poker Night in America, Dr Moskow accuses the show’s creative director Nolan Dalla of sexist behavior and what appears to have been a sexual assault, claiming he “proceeded to thrust his head directly into my chest and cleavage and shake it back and forth.”
Anti-Semitism?
She also accuses the show’s on-screen host, Chris Hanson, of making an anti-semitic remark, claiming he told her, “The thing about Poker Night that makes it so great is that there are no Jews. Every other show on TV has Jews,” apparently unaware that Moskow herself is Jewish.
Hush Money?
Claiming that she was also offered sums ranging from $5000 to $20,000 from the casino’s overseers Rush Street Gaming, LLC, to sign a non-disclosure agreement, all offers which she refused to accept, Moskow’s story is an explosive one.
Sexism and racism?
She also details incidents of “ass-grabbing” by a cameraman on the show, inappropriate racial comments made by Dalla, and sexist remarks from fellow player Shaun Deeb who she claims told her: “women will always be inferior poker players” citing, “you are all too emotional”.
Both Nolan Dalla and Shaun Deeb have already taken to the Twittersphere and poker community forums to deny all the allegations against them.
Dalla’s Rebuttal
Nolan Dalla’s initial response was a tweet which didn’t address any of the main issues, instead focusing on a previous ‘incident’ mentioned by Moskow. Dalla posted:
In a subsequent posting on the 2+2 poker forum, Dalla says of the other claims that “they are NOT true, not true in any way whatsoever,” and he sees “ no reason to apologize”.
He adds, “However, given the serious weight of the accusations, I do feel it appropriate to address the charges here in public…” and proceeds to detail his own recollection of Moskow’s times on the show.
“The allegations as I read them are simply not reflective of reality,” he states, adding: “they do not reflect me or my character. And, they are not representative of my colleagues. I realize that we live in a scandal-plagued society and that ugly allegations makes for daily entertainment.”
Dalla’s lengthy response also includes several e-mails, one of which he describes as “here’s the COMPLETE e-mail she sent to me and staff a few weeks after Pittsburgh and Florida — AFTER THE HARASSMENT. Note, there is NO HINT of any incident nor the least hesitation about coming onto PNiA again the future.”
Shaun Deeb responds
Deeb has also replied to the allegations made against him, tweeting:
before posting a longer response which includes his feeling that, “…all of your stories seem very far-fetched to me” and “I just hate to see someone slander myself and probably slander a whole group from an amazing hard-working group of people.”
The Back Story
In March this year PokerTube published an article covering Moskow’s cryptic tweet: “Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth. Poker industry whistleblowing from me in upcoming weeks. Stay tuned.”
But Moskow’s incredible tale of Poker Night in America wrongdoings goes back to November 2014 when she joined the other players for PNiA at the Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh to film some episodes.
Until now, I have remained publicly silent about the reality of my overall experience on the show,” Moskow’s blog post starts, ”but most specifically, with the production team. Now, however, I am no longer comfortable sitting idle and covering up what I believe to be abhorrent and inexcusable behavior.”
Today’s revelations also claim that the show’s producer and creator, Todd Anderson, was complicit in the sexism which Moskow claims to have encountered.
“The first night there, I attended a cast outing at a bar near the casino where they were filming pre-game interviews. When I approached Todd Anderson…his first words to me were, “Why are you here? What, does Nolan have a thing for you?” I found this comment to be offensive, but could have never anticipated at the time how perfectly it would foreshadow events yet to come.”
The ‘events yet to come’ make for powerful reading, if true. Moskow at one point asks “Why should I miss out on opportunities in the industry because Dalla is a sexist pervert, Dalla and Hanson are anti-Semites, and Anderson and Capra condone their unprofessional behavior by knowing about it and doing nothing?”
Chris Capra is a representative of 888poker.com whom Moskow claims was one of those who cheered on Dalla when he ‘motorboated’ her “at a post-filming party at a local bar”.
Dalla, however, is adamant that no such incident ever took place. “I have pretty good recall of my most embarrassing moments, and like anyone who goes through life, I’ve had a few. Okay, more than a few. But the horrific allegations made by Ms. Moskow are so ludicrous and out of character for me that frankly, I’m not sure exactly how to address them.”
“With all due respect to Ms. Moskow, there’s nothing I find the least bit attractive about her, and to allege I made some physical advance at her in a very public place is something that I completely deny.”
“Sadly I can’t prove that it didn’t happen. But I can stand by my 25 years in poker and my experience with hundreds of female poker players, perhaps thousands over the years, which has been always conducted professionally.”
The claims and counterclaims describing the same events are starkly different, Moskow painting a picture of being not wanted in the show from the very beginning while Dalla speaks about it as though she were warmly welcomed and treated respectfully throughout.
She says, he says
Dalla goes on to answer allegations about a drinking toast which Moskow alleges was directed at her. “Prior to the motorboating”, says Moskow, “Dalla had given a toast to the cast/crew. After he touched my chest, he put his arm around me and whispered in my ear, “ I was going to say something pretty disgusting about you during that toast, but I decided not to because you probably have to deal with that sort of thing all the time.”
Dalla himself is disgusted by Moskow’s account of the toast, instead claiming “that same evening I proposed a toast to a staff member who had died the previous month (his name was Joe Sartori). We all took a moment of silence to raise our glasses and remember Joe, which was beautiful. Anyone who was at the bar that night should remember the entire point of the toast was to remember Joe.”
He continues: “Frankly, I’m disgusted Ms. Moscow would take a solemn moment to somehow believe the toast or the remarks had anything to do with her. She had nothing to do with the toast and I have no idea what she’s talking about when making accusations that I’m sexist or an anti-Semite.”
After we left Pittsburgh,” says Dalla, “I heard nothing about anything that had allegedly happened in the tavern that night. Not from Ms. Moskow. Not from anyone on staff. Not from any of the perhaps 20-30 people who were there. NO ONE said I was out of line or asked me about making sexist or anti-Semitic remarks. Not a text. Not an e-mail. Not a conversation. No one called me out or noted that I had misbehaved in any manner.”
The story is highly unlikely to go away any time soon. Dr. Moskow claims that she has documentation to prove many of her claims, stating : “It was suggested to me that I provide pieces of evidence within this post (texts, emails, legal letters, etc) and I have decided not to, as I will first give all parties involved the opportunity to come forward, apologize, and acknowledge that my account of these events is in fact accurate.”
In a show of apparent strength, she adds, “Should any parties publicly proclaim that I am being dishonest, I will then release relevant documents.”
Jaclynn Moskow also posted on the 2+2 forum shortly after Nolan Dall’s rebuttal, stating that “I will be responding to all of this on Friday, 4PM EST on Joe Ingram’s podcast.” Shaun Deeb is also due on the popular podcast today (Thursday) and there have been forum calls for Nolan Dalla to ‘share the stage’ with Moskow tomorrow.
PokerTube will keep you updated as and when the story unfolds.
