Michael Phelps has been invited to the Asian Poker Tour Macau stop yet again by tournament organizers.

The Asian Poker Tour is once again reaching out to Olympic superstar and poker aficionado Michael Phelps, this time in an attempt to get him to attend the upcoming APT event in Macau.

Phelps’ affection for the game came to light after his record-breaking performance in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, when he revealed to a reporter that he wanted to play at the World Series of Poker. After returning to the United States the swimmer made poker headlines twice. First he made a final table at the Caesars Palace Classic in Las Vegas, and then he was photographed smoking marijuana from online poker player Carter “ckingusc” King’s bong.

The APT was one of the first organizations that tried to capitalize on Phelps’ new association with poker after the Olympics, sending out a poker pun-filled open letter to the swimmer inviting him to attend its first event in the Chinese territory of Macau. Phelps never showed, but that hasn’t stopped the APT from going after him again. The tour’s strategy hasn’t changed, either - it has once again appealed to the 14-time gold medalist through an open letter filled with cheesy poker puns that don’t seem any more likely to grab his attention than the first time.

The new letter from the APT to Phelps follows:

Dear Michael,

They say a week is a long time in politics and I’m sure you’ll agree that a year is a long time when you are a world beating Olympics legend. It looks now looks like that you are back to your best and congratulations on the new world record. Last year, we noticed that you had told your local paper that you were a poker buff and since then you have played in small tournaments at Caesars Palace in Vegas and been around and about on the circuit. In fact, lots of poker players claim you’re their friend but whether that is them using their famous bluffing skills is a different matter!

Last year you were in Beijing for the Olympics and we encouraged you to head down to the Asian Poker Tour Macau event at the Starworld. We heard positive noises but there was no sign of the human dolphin when they called ‘shuffle up and deal.’ We would like to extend this invite once again to you to come, all expenses paid, and take part in this showpiece poker event. The Main Event is in Macau between the 20 – 23rd August but the 12 day festival of poker starts on August 12th so let us know!

Forget the controversy about suit changes in your sport, concentrate on these suits: spades, clubs, diamonds and hearts!  Forget your rivalry with Milorand Cavic, how about a heads-up game with the legendary Johnny Chan or modern day poker icon JC Tran? We know you couldn’t make the meeting with the Pope but how about a meeting of poker minds in Macau?

Some media reports even suggest that you may have got in with the wrong crowd in the last 12 months – we promise to keep you out of trouble. We’ll give you access to pools of sharks, fish and those that you swim in! If you don’t want to bring your goggles, fair enough, bring a pair of sunglasses and your poker face! While you are at it, you could ask a certain poker playing President by the name of Barack Hussein Obama II if he fancies joining you!

The question remains is the newly rejuvenated human dolphin really a fish? We hope to find out!

Best Wishes,

The Asian Poker Tour

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