Bettor loses half a million after ignoring Paul the Octopus

The gentleman who placed a €500,000 bet on Germany to beat Spain in their World Cup semi final match on July 7 may want to see who Paul the Octopus picks for the final before placing his next bet. The famous octopus, which lives in an aquarium in Oberhausen, Germany, has a perfect record so far in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa as he’s predicted the outcome of all of Germany’s six games. This includes their 1-0 loss to Spain in the semi final.

But there’s a fan out there somewhere who ignored the octopus and wagered €500,000, reportedly the largest bet in World Cup history with British bookmaker William Hill. The man placed the bet over the phone with the odds of a German win being 10/11. However, that went up in smoke when Carlos Puyol’s header in the 73rd minute was the only goal of the game. The man’s possible profit of €454,000 went out the window with the Germans’ chance of winning their fourth World Cup.

However, the win for Spain was a bit of a relief to most bookmakers, who were stung in the wallet earlier in the tournament when the underdog Germans beat both England and Argentina. While the bettor is out a half million euros, the bookies are taking it all in stride. A William Hill spokesperson said that a win by Holland in the final would be a great way for the tournament to end, at least to the bookmaking industry that is.

He said that not only did the €500,000 wager lose, but bets of €80,000 and €100,000 on Germany to win the Cup as well as a €75,000 bet on them to beat Spain all went down the drain. He added that even though some clients have laid out £10,000 and £25,000 bets on Spain to lift the trophy, they’re just happy it isn’t Germany as it could have cost them about £5 million.

Expekt.com has Spain listed as favourites to win the match and the Cup with odds set at 23/20, while a Dutch victory is posted at 53/20 and the odds of a draw after 90 minutes are 11/5.

You may not want to make any wagers though until Paul the Octopus has made his pick, which is scheduled to air live on television in several countries Friday at dinner time.