Had a column idea. Kept hearing that the betting shops in London offered humorous and bizarre prop bets. Wanted to see if that was true.
So I asked the people at my hotel to point me toward a few betting shops. I'm staying in Euston; they recommended taking the bus to Angel.
It didn't look far on my map, and I prefer walking when possible, so I set off on foot.
A career of covering sports in America's major cities has taught me this: You don't know a city until you've gotten lost in it. You don't know New York until you set off the for the Upper East Side and instead find yourself in Harlem.
Inevitably, I got lost. I found myself on street after street of quaint shops and restaurants, and then I found myself on streets that made me frequently check my wallet.
Finally, after a few extra miles and a jaunt through a bunch of residential neighborhoods, I found a betting shop.
It was called Wiliam Hill, and it was small and sweltering. There were two employees behind what I assume is bulletproof plexiglass. One customer stared at a video screen, and one perused the racing forms. They didn't offer bets on the Olympics.
The woman behind the glass pointed me to a betting shop called ``Coral." It was bigger and marginally nicer, and did offer bets on Olympic events, but they were mundane. You could bet on who would win the gold in various events, but I was hoping for a shop that offered odds on how many Mary Poppinses would be in the Opening Ceremony. (I was going to be the over.)
