Equity v Equality: Context about Women in Poker
Gather ‘round, class. I think it’s time for a discussion. Yes, it’s about women in poker, but it’s also about
Vertucci Allegations Exemplify Difficulties for Women in Poker
Oof. It’s been quite a few days in poker – interesting, enlightening, often disappointing but a little encouraging, too. You’ll not be shocked to know that the topic at hand is women in poker. And this evolving situation has ruffled the feathers of a lot of people in the poker community.
Starting with a Tweet
The tweet that started it was fairly straightforward, an example of sexual harassment though striking in the harasser’s primitiveness. The woman who posted the text exchange from 2023 expressed an urgency in attention to the matter and, perhaps more importantly, a sense of initiating a collective task. “Let’s stop the harassment!” Julia McBride posted, calling on others to share their own stories of harassment by the named perpetrator. Her confidence that there would be others was striking.
In an all-too-familiar rollout, McBride’s accusation of harassment by Hustler Casino Live co-owner Nick Vertucci initially hit a wall of sorts. Some men picked apart her response to Vertucci in the text exchange and criticized her actions, while fellow victims of Vertucci and harassment in general nodded and empathized in silence.
But McBride didn’t back down. In fact, she doubled down by revealing that a popular Hustler Casino dealer named Lauren had left her job due to harassment. Those who had heard rumblings of that incident started to speak up, as did some of Vertucci’s harassment victims. More of them contacted allies in poker to tell their stories while needing to stay anonymous but wanting to be heard in some way. There were revelations on Twitter Spaces, in tweets, and by word of mouth.
What was revealed was that Vertucci was a serial offender, having sexually harassed dozens of women at some level – ranging from offensive comments to showing pornographic images to assault – over the course of a few years.
Timeline of Events
Considering the numerous posts on various forms of social media, the articles and videos and other formats that have revealed more information, it makes sense to look at a rough timeline of how the story transpired in the past week.
Saturday, October 5
On Saturday evening, October 5, Julia McBride posted a text exchange with Vertucci from September 2023. It showed Vertucci’s harassment of McBride as she simply tried to confirm that she was playing in the game he organized and controlled.
Sunday, October 6
By the next morning, McBride reported that Vertucci was not only blaming his victim but trying to find the location of her private home game and ways to discredit her publicly.
Later on October 6, McBride revealed that the aforementioned female dealer at Hustler lost her job because witnesses to the harassment she faced and brought to the attention of the staff refused to step up and corroborate her report.
That evening, poker pro Kitty Kuo confirmed rumors that Vertucci had shown pornographic photos to her while playing on the Live at the Bike livestream several years ago. When she insulted the photo of his genitalia, she was never invited to play on any livestream he hosted since.
Ash “Kardash” Morales took to Twitter Spaces to reveal that Vertucci had made indecent proposals to her. A woman named Ellie spoke of indecent proposals, too. And Arden Cho stopped playing the stream because of lewd comments.
Monday, October 7
On Monday, Matt Berkey and the Only Friends podcast crew took on the issue and discussed the information that had come to light to that point.
Tuesday, October 8
The following day, PokerNews published its first article on the allegations. PokerOrg published about it as well, including dialogue between Vertucci and a player nicknamed Sashimi that was caught on a 2023 Hustler Casino Live stream.
Longtime player on the stream Nik “Airball” Arcot posted a lengthy statement on Twitter, alleging that he was only then finding out about Vertucci’s behavior. He praised HCL co-owner Ryan Feldman, expressed support for Vertucci’s victims, and claimed he would no longer support the show ousted Vertucci.
Sometime late on October 8, Vertucci deleted his Twitter and Instagram accounts.
Wednesday, October 9
Vertucci’s podcast cohost and Hustler Casino Live special game host Veronica Brill had believed Vertucci’s narrative for a long time, having considered him a friend. The revelations of the week prompted her to listen to his victims and review her interactions with him, all of which she spoke about in a PokerOrg video interview. Brill also gave PokerOrg access to some of her texts with Vertucci since McBride and others spoke of their harassment.
Later that night, Hustler Casino Live finally issued a statement, albeit a very brief and somewhat vague one on Twitter.
Vertucci’s former partner, Ryan Feldman, has yet to say anything about the allegations or the changes at Hustler Casino Live. And HCL has yet to clarify what “no longer involved” actually means, considering he was one of the two owners of the show.
Victim Blaming
There are numerous reasons that women don’t come forward with sexual harassment allegations. In Julia’s case, it was a combination of factors. Not only would she have been unwelcomed at Hustler Casino Live, she risked being shadow-banned from other games with predominantly male players, as men sometimes band together to support each other. She also risked backlash from men in the broader poker community, and that is something for which it is impossible to sufficiently prepare.
McBride finally came forward after being uninvited from Hustler Casino Live this summer. In addition, she did face backlash from men in the community…and even from some women.
The victim blaming from men is somewhat predictable but no less hurtful.
McBride responded briefly, but it would’ve taken quite a lot of time, energy, and emotional bandwidth to respond to all of them, not to mention any messages she received via text or DM.
Evidently, it needs to be stated that the victim of harassment is never to blame for the harasser’s actions. Nothing that she wears, says, or does justifies unwanted sexual advances in any form. Notice that many people who blame the victim in this case criticize McBride’s responses more than Vertucci’s comments, put more emphasis on her reactions than on his unprovoked harassment. And despite Vertucci instigating the harassment, they put the onus on her to stop it.
None of this is McBride’s fault. She put her reputation, sanity, poker opportunities, friendships, and possibly personal safety on the line to call out Vertucci’s behavior publicly. This is courage.
Everyone Knew It?
Many of the comments that followed McBride’s claims and those of the numerous women who followed suit indicated that people knew Vertucci was not a good person. In so many words, many people (mostly male, as the poker community is predominantly male) were not surprised by the harassment claims.
Responses that clearly aimed to be supportive of Vertucci’s victims noted that they believed he was not a good person, using words like creepy, scummy, scamming, unethical, and disgusting. They “never liked him,” “always thought he was (insert negative quality here),” and so on. But this is not the brag or swagger that people think it is.
In fact, it is more of a proverbial slap in the face to the victims. It’s not exactly “you should’ve known” but more of a shift of focus. Saying that everyone who was skeptical or critical of Vertucci in the past was correct about him can be hurtful to the victims. Moreover, it should shine the spotlight back on the people who “knew” he was doing these things or that he was capable of it. If this was the case, did they warn the women in his games and working with him or near him that he gave off those vibes? Did they call out his inappropriate behavior on livestreams and bring it to the attention of Feldman, Hustler, and/or the general public?
Speaking Up is Not White Knighting
Some men do have discussions, some even including women, regarding their roles in stopping harassment in poker rooms. A regular conundrum is whether or not any actions men might take could be considered white knighting. It is a valid concern, as stepping in to a situation wherein a woman is being harassed can be construed by some as helpful and by others as trying to rescue a woman, riding in as the white knight to same a damsel in distress.
What often ends of happening, though, is that men who do see harassment and want to help have an internal dialogue about how their actions may be accepted or rejected…and they end up not doing anything at all.
Silence is Harmful
Consider all of the times that Vertucci openly harassed women at Hustler Casino Live. There is an occasional male voice that chimes in with something like “that’s not okay” or “oh, Nick.” But never has there been a man who has forcefully stood up to Vertucci or quit the game because of his actions. Did any of the men who witnessed his actions ask the women if they were okay? Did they offer an ear to listen to concerns?
For those who played in any games with or in the presence of Vertucci, this is a good time to look back at the livestreams or think back to situations, conversations, comments, or actions that now – in light of the latest accusations – seem concerning. For those who commentated on those streams and heard every comment or worked in, near, or around those games, this is a good time to look back at what could’ve been done to stop the harassment.
Most importantly, Vertucci’s business partner and overseer of every livestream, Ryan Feldman, should speak up about what he knew and when he knew it. Instead of trying to cover it up, for which there is evidence of trying to bury the story over the past week, he could take a look at the industry from which he makes his money and find ways to make it better for all players and poker fans. He should also clarify the extent of his break from Vertucci and whether or not Vertucci is still the co-owner or any type of investor in Hustler Casino Live.
Whatever Can We Do?
Perhaps this can start a discussion among men in the overwhelmingly male poker industry. Just don’t forget to invite women to the conversations and welcome their input.
There are ways to do this on individual and collective levels, on personal and industry levels.
- Start an honest group chat with friends about harassment you’ve witnessed and what could have been done differently to intervene.
- If you can’t be empathetic, sympathetic, or supportive to women, leave them alone altogether.
- Ask female friends in poker about their experiences, how they handled them, and what would have been helpful from their male counterparts.
- Reach out to the women affected by this scandal and ask how they’re doing. Offer to listen without judgment or criticism. Check on them in weeks and months, when the situation falls out of the headlines.
- Talk to your poker room manager or tournament director – those you know personally or those working at places you play – about their policies and how they can be improved to protect players from harassment.
- For those working poker events or in poker rooms at the management level or above, organize a meeting to discuss the topic of harassment with dealers. Many dealers are victims of harassment, and all of them see it to some degree. Find ways to address this on different levels.
It is long past time that these situations be allowed to happen, fester, and intensify to the point of full-blown scandal.
End of Story?
In reality, the Vertucci scandal is not over. There are more women who have not told their stories in public. There is a former Hustler Casino Live dealer who was disrespected and left without employment due to Vertucci’s harassment, and she has yet to see justice in any way. Vertucci’s business partner has yet to issue a statement. Livestream players and viewers have yet to see meaningful steps taken toward creating a safer playing environment.
It is all too easy to let this situation fall by the wayside in favor of tomorrow’s news or the next scandal. This poker community as a whole will decide if that happens or if, instead, this scandal remains in the spotlight to some degree as a part of progress and positive change.
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