30 Years Later, Still Making a Difference

 

 

If you’re lucky, there are people in your life who make a difference.

Linda Johnson has made a huge difference in my life in a positive way.

This week, the first week of August 2024 is an anniversary for me, or sorts. Thirty years ago, back in August 1994, Linda was the co-owner and editor of Card Player magazine, then the biggest publication in the game. Writing for Card Player was both prestigious and an honor. I had few, if any credentials to join the staff based on my limited poker background or as a regular columnist. But Linda took a chance on me and gave me an opportunity.

Card Player was looking to hire a part-time writer to cover the Atlantic City poker and gambling scene. New Jersey had just legalized live poker. So, I started going to the Jersey Shore on weekends to play. When I saw an advertisement for a poker writer for Atlantic City, at best, I figured I was drawing to an inside straight. But Linda dealt me a winning hand into a whole new world, instilling within me the confidence to learn and grow, and ultimately prosper.

Seemingly insignificant moments in life and small changes can lead to much bigger things, that is, if we play our cards right.

For several years, going to Atlantic City, meeting new people, attending big events, and learning more about poker and gambling provided street smarts and new perspectives. It also led to many more personal and professional opportunities as the game expanded elsewhere. Eventually, it motivated me to leave my previous career and move to Las Vegas, when and where the “poker boom” was about to explode. One thing led to another, and another. Writing those columns for Card Player in the ’90s led to executive positions with Binion’s Horseshoe casino, Poker Stars, the World Series of Poker, and took me on so many adventures. It also introduced me to some great people along the way who became many of my closest friends. They say, if you love what you do for a living, you’ll never work a day in your life. It’s true!

It’s remarkable to think that perhaps *none* of this would ever have happened had Linda not said “yes” to hiring a new unknown writer 3,000 miles away whom she had never met back in 1994. I suspect my life would be very different and I would have gone down some other path. I wouldn’t know many of you. I certainly wouldn’t have enjoyed myself as much.

I’ve now been blessed to know Linda for three decades, which is half of my life. No doubt, I’m not alone. She has given so many others — including some of you reading this now — their own new opportunities. Sometimes, a hand up makes all the difference in the world. Maybe it’s en encouraging word, or a phone call, or a text. Linda has been there for all of us, and been there most when it mattered.

Linda sent me this picture yesterday. It was taken of us together in 2007. It’s wonderful.

Yes, indeed — if you’re lucky, there are people in your life who make a difference. And, I’m really extra lucky.