The Vikings meet Robin Hood in Nottingham later this year when the Norwegian poker championships are held in the Northern city.
Its the first time that the championships will be held in the UK.
The reason for the surprising relocation is that the Scandinavian nation has banned poker, terming it a "lottery".
So stringent are these regulations that poker players can face criminal proceedings - just by being found playing it.
To help transport participants, a special plane is flying direct from Oslo to Nottingham for the tournament.
After Norway's Annette Obrestad's (pictured below) victory at the World Series of Poker in Europe last September, you would have thought that her home country would have expressed pride in what the young 18 year old had achieved.
Instead of reveling in her victory, however, Norway has chosen to follow the burgeoning trend among nations banning online poker and casino gaming.
The tentative schedule for the 2008 NPC includes ten events, each with affordable buy-ins in the £100-500 range. Events include no-limit and fixed-limit hold'em and pot-limit Omaha, with several rebuy and "second chance" events included in the mix.
As many as 500 Norwegian poker players are likely to travel to play in the event, now in its seventh year.
A documentary is being filmed throughout the championships and the final table of the main event, which will be held at the Dusk till Dawn club between April 28th to May 5th, will be filmed and covered live on television.
Expekt.com, sponsor of the event, will actually charter a plane so that several hundred Norwegian players can play in the Championships.
Because Dusk Till Dawn us being generous enough to host the event, organisers will allow a certain number of players from the UK to participate, although that number is yet to be determined.
Speaking about the unusual event a statement on the Dusk Till Dawn website that " we are delighted to announce that we have been nominated to be the official host of the 2008 Norwegian Poker Championships. With a total estimated prize pool of £350 000, the winner of the Main Event will also receive a complete WSOP package from expekt.com."
