There is no sports bettor in the state of Texas more prolific than Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale. The furniture chain magnate has regularly made headlines with his moves at the sportsbook, dropping seven-figure tickets on baseball and football while offering full refunds to qualified customers at his stores if he hits.
His latest wager could earn him a small island nation’s GDP with a single bet.
Mattress Mack has once again done a very Mattress Mack thing. He’s wagered $2 million on his beloved Houston ball club to win it all at 10:1 odds. If the season ends in a Jose Altuve Bud Light bath, he’ll cash out $22 million — likely the largest payout ever seen from a single futures ticket in America, according to the Action Network.
That $2 million bet, placed back in June, is just one of four wagers totaling $3.6m riding on the Astros. A Houston World Series win would equal more than $35 million in payouts — more than the $20 million in furniture refunds he’d have to pay out after running the Astros Win promotion that’s helped make him famous in eastern Texas.
A loss would hurt, but it wouldn’t be unfamiliar territory for a gambler who’s ridden towering highs and sinking lows at the sportsbook. He dropped an estimated $13 million when Houston lost to the Nationals in the 2019 Series, though that was mitigated by more than $20 million in furniture sales that summer. He may or may not have lost seven figures betting on the underdog Titans against the Chiefs in the 2020 AFC title game, depending on whether or not he could find a taker. He also raked in more than $3 million by trusting Touchdown Tom and the Tampa pass rush to squeeze Kansas City into submission at Super Bowl LV.
McIngvale probably won’t cash his Astros future; though Houston has the second-best World Series odds as of October 8 after thrashing the White Sox to start the ALDS, there are still seven other teams vying for a title. It won’t matter. He’ll remain a Texas legend both at the sportsbook and in the showroom, where he’s found a way to turn MLB wins into business success.