It may be a little late, what with the Athens Olympiad under 10 days away. But Poker at the next Olympics in Beijing in 2008? A pie in the sky idea? Not according to the website PokerInAthens.com which is trumpeting for the inclusion of the world’s favourite card game alongside athletics, swimming, gymnastics and weightlifting at the games.

The site claims that more people compete at Poker than any other sport and under images of a bobsleigh team in action, a group of synchronised swimmers in flower-like formation and a rhythmic gymnast twirling a ribbon, PokerInAthens.coms asks, “if this qualifies why not poker?”

The site claims that, errr, Poker was indeed a featured sport of the ancient games after archeologists discovered evidence that they believe proves poker's ancestry dates back to the ancient Greek games.

"We were three days into our Athens dig," explained famed archeologist, and the world's leading advocate of tan shirts and tiny shorts, Dr. Edmund Wolf, "when we stumbled across an ancient chamber filled with thousands of tiny marble discs. Poker chips! I couldn't believe my eyes. The room had the look of a tiny ancient coliseum, all built around the large stone poker table in the middle. And would you believe the table's felt top was still soft. We found chips, piles of cocktail napkins, and even primitive stone sunglasses. The way I see it the games have no choice but to let poker in now. Poker has seniority."

The credibility of this, however, is debunked by Dr. Wolf’s scientific colleagues Hubert Hoffman.

"Truth be told," Hoffman told the website, "I wish his findings were true. I'd love to have the opportunity to throw my poker skills into the ring and try to bring back a little gold. But Dr. Wolf has a history of, shall we say, suspicious findings. I mean we're talking about the same guy who claimed he found the Lost Ark and two weeks later called a press conference to announce that he'd uncovered the Garden of Eden in the Lawn and Garden section of some Home Depot. He's a little off."

All tongue in cheek, we know, but what would it take to get Poker recognized as an official Olympic sport?

Well according to the official requirements set out by the International Olympic Committee, a game/sport must be practiced by men in at least 75 countries and on four continents and by women in at least 40 countries and on three continents. 

In addition they have to be governed by an International Federation before the IOC will grant official Olympic status.
 
The Federation must then file an application to become a demonstration sport.  After that, the sport may file another application to officially become an Olympic sport.
 
However, the present trend at the IOC is to limit the number of sports to fewer than 30 in order to lessen the size of the Olympics and give poorer countries an opportunity to host the games.

So Poker in Beijing in 2008? Highly unlikely but then again curling – that idiotic sport where the ice is swept in front of a puck-like object - is an official Olympic sport!

And if the global explosion in poker intrest is a gauge, anything is possible!