Swimmer Turned Poker Star?

Many big names are promised at this year's Asian Poker Tour. The latest is Michael Phelps, recently invited to participate in the event. See if he'll hit the tables here

The Asian Poker Tour (APT) is about to kick off soon again, and many big surprises are planned for the anticipated Main Event. The Main Event will be held from the 12th to the 23rd of August at the Galaxy StarWorld Hotel & Casino, making it the second time that the Main Event will take place in China's gambling-filled Macau. It will be comprised of 15 preliminary tournaments and $34,000 Hong Kong Dollars to win at the final No Limit Hold'em table.

One of the main attractions for the APT Main Event is the possibility of professional record breaking swimmer, Michael Phelps, coming to participate. Officials from the APT recently sent Phelps an invitation to come and play as part of an all expenses paid appearance, to which he is yet to respond. APT officials want all the world's biggest names at the event, and have even gone so far as to saying that President Barack Obama should come and play too!

As for Phelps, the swimmer is already known to be an enthusiastic poker player, having taken part a wide range of poker tournaments at Las Vegas' own Caesar's Palace. He took part in the 2008 Caesar's Poker Classic, where not only did he rake in the chips but he also mingled with many of the poker world's greatest, among them Doyle Brunson. Not long ago he won an incredible five gold medals the 2009 world Swimming Championships to add to his eight Beijing Olympic titles, making his celebrity-status even more solidified. Phelps' invitation is actually a follow-up invite to the one he was sent last year, to which he declined.

Yet the major cash prizes up for grabs are enough to attract even some of the most recognized names in poker, and the APT has a promising line up of stars and professionals already booked in to play. Last years' winner, Yevgeniv Timoshenko, will be coming back to defend the crown, whilst WSOP winner Johnny Chan will also be coming, perhaps to try and steal it! Other pros include J.C. Tran, Stev Sung, Kwang Soo Lee, David "Chino" Rheem, Quinn Do, Nam Lee and "The Poker Pack". The event will even be filmed as part of an upcoming Chinese film on poker!