Salahi Sell-Out

Tareq and Michaele Salahi have sold out their June 17th appearance at Carol Joynt’s Q & A Cafe, but we wonder how their polo match ticket sales are going. The most exciting part of next weekend’s match may be the unpaid bills and lawsuits. The was certainly the case with the Salahi’s 2008 and 2009 polo events. 

This year’s bus ads look nice, but they come cheap, and the convincing 2010 America’s Polo Cup website is misleading. Is the event “on the National Mall?” No. It’s scheduled for West Potomac Park. Is India participating?  No. The Indian Government pulled out after the Salahis crashed that White House dinner.

Then there’s the “Sponsors/Partners” page. Is P.F. Chang’s a sponsor? No. The Old Town Crier? No (we asked). It’s obvious that Washington Flyer magazine and the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi aren’t sponsors; they had their names removed from the site after we informed them they were on it. Land Rover, Cartier, and the St. Regis and Ritz-Carlton hotels, initially listed as sponsors, managed to get their names and logos removed from the website months ago.

Canada’s Dolce magazine is a sponsor, but what about Blackwater?  The security company isn’t even called that anymore, and the successors, U.S. Training Center and Xe Services LLC, didn’t answer our inquiries. Perhaps these corporations are stealth sponsors. After all, you know how the Salahis hate publicity.

America’s Polo Cup, like the Salahi’s “Courage Cup” which preceded it, claims to raise money for a charity called the “Journey for the Cure Foundation.” Journey’s officers: Tareq and Michaele Salahi. The Commonwealth of Virginia has warned consumers that the “Foundation” is not registered with the state, and an investigation is underway.

There is another government investigation of Salahi finances. The couple lost the family vineyard but got a $100,000 grant from USDA to develop a winery tourism industry in Virginia, and the it’s not clear what they did with the money. Maybe they invested it in polo or gave it to an unregistered charity.

 Updates:

The Washington Post estimated Saturday attendence at 250 people. The Washington Times is one of the few remaining sponsors.

“The event’s Web site listed its key sponsor as Kingfisher Beer, whose chief executive said the company was not a sponsor.” — Neely Tucker, Washington Post.

“P.F. Chang’s told FOX 5 they are not a sponsor. However, they said that a local franchise did agree to provide some lettuce wraps. Radio station WKYS also denies sponsoring the event.” — Stacey Cohan, Fox 5 News. [We had a similar communication from Stefanie Dunnegan of P.F. Chang’s. — ml]

“Salahis find nightclub harder to get into than White House,” Roxanne Roberts and Amy Artsinger, Washington Post.

“Salahis’ Charity Polo Match Set for Saturday, Despite Ongoing Investigation,” Mara Gay, Politics Daily.

 

Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

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Tags: America's Cup Polo, Michaele Salahi, polo, Salahis, Tareq Salahi, Washington DC