Russian Bookies Want That Octopus

Russian bookmakers have offered €100,000 for Paul the Octopus, who accurately predicted the winners of six consecutive World Cup matches.

“100,000 euros (about $129,800) was our starting price,” Oleg Zhuravsky, co-owner of Liga Stavok — “Bet League” in Russian — told CNN. He said the offer could be increased if need be — “We are bookmakers, after all.” Paul currently lives at the Sea Life Center in Oberhausen, Germany. Zhuravsky said a representative of the center’s public relations firm has told him the offer has been received and “they are studying it.”

Paul’s owners say they have no plan to sell him.