Michael Phelps’ Wife Nicole Johnson Once Conquered Him in the Arena Where He Used to Spend $25,000 Weekly

Michael Phelps is a man of many talents. The 23-time Olympic champion, with the title of most decorated Olympian ever, has a competitive spirit that stretches out to other sports. He is an avid golfer, a video game lover, and enjoys football.

He’s even a damn good poker player. But it seems his wife and the mother of his three children might be even better. After all, she made it further than the Olympian at the poker tournament held after the “Big Game Big Give” fundraiser in 2017.

Nicole Johnson Phelps is better than the swimming GOAT at poker

Each year, The Giving Back Fund holds an exclusive Super Bowl event, “Big Game Big Give”, which raises millions of dollars for worthy charities worldwide. In 2017, Michael Phelps co-hosted the conjunctive celebrity poker tournament after the event with 2006 WSOP Main Event champ Jamie Gold.

But though the Olympic champion rules the swimming pool, his wife managed to out-poker him on the big night. According to Page Six, Nicole Johnson Phelps made it further than her husband at the poker game held at the estate of Houston entrepreneur Michael Holthouse. “She beat him,” their sources reported. “They both ended up busting, but she made it to the final table and in the top three.” 

The poker tournament was held the night before Super Bowl Sunday, an after-party to the fundraiser that had Josh Brolin as the celebrity host and ‘Friends’ star David Schwimmer as celebrity emcee. The 2017 event managed to raise up over a $1 million for the charity. They auctioned off items such as an NBA All-Star Weekend extravaganza, and tickets to the Hollywood premiere of Avengers: Infinity Wars, among others.

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With an initial buy-in of $2,000, the grand prize of the tournament was an entry into the 2017 WSOP Main Event. But that’s not all. It came along with six months of private coaching with Jamie Gold himself. Of course, the package included first-class travel expenses and accommodations.

Michael Phelps is an experienced poker player

Not only does Michael Phelps have 27 World Championship titles to his name, but he is also an amazing poker player, making appearances in tournaments in the past. In 2018, he participated in several World Series of Poker (WSOP) events in Las Vegas. 

The swimmer also appeared at the 2017 Annual World Series of Poker. Here, he entered the $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em tournament and donated any winnings to his Michael Phelps Foundation. In fact, by 2012, he was already playing high-stakes poker, buying into a weekly $25,000 game.

Reportedly, “Phelps has apparently enjoyed the tutelage of a number of poker mentors including Doyle Brunson.” That’s like taking swimming lessons from Michael Phelps himself. For the champion, poker is a fun way for him to unwind.

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“I’ve met some of my best friends at a poker table. Some of the kids I’m always with, who I talk to every day,” Phelps explained.

Really, is there anything that Michael Phelps is bad at?