8 Jul 2010 18:33 Africa/Lagos


Bookmakers Fear Octopus

MANCHESTER, England, July 8, 2010/PRNewswire/ -- The likes of Ronaldo, Rooney and Messi may have failed to hit the heights this World Cup, but an Octopus called Paul with psychic powers has emerged as one of the real stars of this tournament.


Paul's accuracy at predicting match results is gaining him a cult following and the Octopus has the bookies running scared.


Paul, who resides in a tank at Sea Life aquarium in Oberhausen, Germany, has correctly predicted all of Germany's World Cup results - including their 1-0 defeat against Spain.


The two-year-old octopus - who was actually born in Weymouth in England, predicted Germany's wins against England and Argentina, and even Serbia's defeat of Germany in the group stage.


The eight-legged tipster makes his selection by choosing food from two containers, one marked with the flag of Germany and the other their opponents. However the Octopus is also turning tipster for the World Cup final between Spain and Holland.


On line sports betting firm Betfred.com are offering odds of 4/6 that he will come down on the side of Germany in Saturday's match and 11/10 he again risks incurring the wrath of his home country by picking Uruguay.


The same firm can't split Spain or Holland and they are both 10/11.


Punters can also get 15/8 he picks out two winning teams, 11/8 he gets just one of his selections right and 2/1 his amazing run comes to an end and he sides with a pair of losing nations this weekend.


Betfred.com spokesman Mark Pearson,


"The punters are now backing Paul's selections and if his run continues he will cost us a few squid. The bookmakers will want this tipster to become Calamari."


For those who think the Psychic Octopus Paul has more to offer than just football predictions, the talented octopus is 8/1 to star in the next James Bond film!


For all the odds on the World Cup go to http://www.betfred.com/


Contact - Mark Pearson; mark.pearson@betfred.com


Source: Betfred.com

Contact - Mark Pearson; mark.pearson@betfred.com, +44(0)7702-851-425

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