As part of National Poker Week, Tournament Directors Association Co-Founder and Poker News Daily Guest Columnist Linda Johnson lived the high life in Washington, DC. She received a guided tour of the Pentagon and took a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Arlington National Cemetery. Johnson relived her travels with Poker News Daily.
Poker News Daily: Tell us about your Pentagon visit this afternoon.
Johnson: The Pentagon was one of the highlights of my life. I got to have lunch with Brigadier General Sandy Dittig, who is one of the top-ranking females in the military. She invited us to go to the executive dining room at the Pentagon. It was incredible service and a great atmosphere. When we sat down, they had these big plates that said “U.S. Army” on them. It was very fancy and very nice.
After that, she took us on a tour through the halls of the Pentagon and pointed out several department heads and we got to visit some of their offices. Then, we went to the 9/11 memorial and she gave us a tour of Arlington Cemetery and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. They actually saluted her when they came out for the changing of the guard. We found out all of the protocols on who has to salute who. Since she’s so high-ranking, they have to salute her. Until she salutes back, they have to continue to salute. You can really mess with someone if you want.
PND: Refresh our memory as to how you met Dittig.
Johnson: We met Sandi last year at a fundraiser for the Paralyzed Veterans of America in Washington, DC. We also met Lt. Colonial Pete Derouin, who gave us a tour of the city at night because our plane left at 3:00am. We saw all of the monuments and it was another incredible evening. We invited them to play in the charity poker tournament this week. Sandi is really not a poker player, but she’s excited. Last night, we played in a private tournament in Washington, DC and they were impressed that we were professional poker players and we were impressed that they were in the military.
PND: Talk about what the pros are doing at the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) Fly-In as part of National Poker Week.
Johnson: The pros are at the Fly-In to aid support for the cause of the PPA. We have assignments to meet with some of our legislators and we are going to try to convince them to support HR 2267, which basically is going to regulate online poker. That’s our mission.
PND: Are you looking forward to meeting with Congressmen?
Johnson: I am so excited I can’t stand it. We have actually been role-playing all week. We’ve been practicing our talking points and we’re ready to go.
PND: You’ve probably been practicing with your longtime friend, Jan Fisher. Has she been the Congressman or the pro?
Johnson: She’s been both. My brother, who just learned to play poker a few years ago, is also with us and he’s really excited. He’s a layman who just plays poker part-time. Like we do, he finds it incredible that someone would try to take away our freedom to play online poker. I have friends in Canada who tease me that I’m from the “Land of the Free” and yet we can’t play online poker. That is appalling to me and it’s time to kick some butt on Capitol Hill and get this law overturned.
PND: Has the attendance at National Poker Week been what you thought it would be?
Johnson: I’m pleased to see so many people here. I have met a lot of them at various functions across the country. A lot of the State Directors are friends of mine. It is pretty much what I expected. There’s a lot of buzz and a lot of excitement. Everyone is ready to meet with staffers or Congressmen and let them know what’s on our mind.