(courtesy of reviewjournal.com)
Michael Phelps, the golden boy of swimming, may be up to his neck in a dating scandal.
Click HERE to see images of Michael Phelps's new gal
The celebrity Web site TMZ.com ran photographs on Friday in which Phelps' girlfriend, Palms cocktail server Caroline "Caz" Pal, appeared to be posing topless in a series of photos.
Phelps, who had become the most sought-after celebrity endorser after delivering a record eight gold medals in the Beijing Olympics, reportedly took Pal home to meet his mother over Thanksgiving.
The Web site purportedly shows Pal, 26, in provocative photos both alone and with other girls. In one photo, she is on a bed sandwiched between two girls in short shorts that read "Got Ho's?" on their rears and "My ex-girlfriend is a stripper."
Phelps, 23, has been a Las Vegas regular since his record haul of gold medals, which earned him a $1 million bonus from Speedo. He has been taking poker lessons in hopes of playing in the World Series of Poker here next year.
He has been seen partying and making out in public with Pal, who works at Moon nightclub in the Palms Fantasy Tower, where actor George Clooney's former girlfriend, Sarah Larson, used to work.
Pal's MySpace page lists her hometown as Long Beach, Calif., and indicates she attended Cal State-Northridge.
On Oct. 23, Phelps was seen partying in a hoodie with Pal at Tao nightclub at The Venetian after attending a pool-side event at Simon at Palms Place. He was media-shy at Palms Place, ducking reporters during a red carpet appearance.
At Tao, he jumped up on a DJ stand and was "mouthing words to a rap song," a source told Vegas Confidential. "He went from being real low key to being kind of out there. He acted like a dumb kid."
According to Davie Brown Entertainment, a Los Angeles talent agency that tracks the endorsement appeal of celebrities, Phelps ranked No. 1 in the first index compiled after the Beijing Olympics. He beat out basketball legend Michael Jordan, who earns $45 million a year in endorsements, and movie star Tom Hanks.
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