Michael Phelps the poker star

Posted by Stan Moore on November 26, 2008

Michael Phelps is picking up a new sport: poker.

So says Las Vegas Review-Journal columnist Norm Clarke.

“Since winning a record eight gold medals in the Beijing Summer Olympics, Phelps has spent a considerable amount of time in Las Vegas, taking poker lessons from pros, so he can enter the World Series of Poker next year,” Clarke writes.

Sound like kind of a grind, training and mastering one sport, then starting all over with a new one? Clarke thinks not.

“Phelps’ passion for poker isn’t the only reason he’s been showing up in Las Vegas,” Clarke writes. “The 14-time Olympic swimming gold medalist has been seen in the company of a fetching brunette who works at the Palms. He was spotted at Moon nightclub on Saturday and having lunch earlier at Canyon Gate Country Club.”

Picking up on Clarke’s column, celebrity blogger Perez Hilton chimes in: “Golden Boy has been jetting into the desert gambling mecca to enjoy the company of a brunette ‘hostess’ that works at the Palms! How very George Clooney of him! We love a good HOtel HOstess! Go on, player! Play on while you can!”