It wouldn’t be a major sporting event without Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale dropping massive amounts of money on a bet and offering up just as ridiculous a sale at his regional furniture stores.
Sure enough, the retail magnate is back for March Madness and he’s actually been wagering on his national title favorite for a quite a while now. The Houstonian is backing the No. 1 seed Houston Cougars (no surprise there) and he won’t even have to travel should the program reach the championship game.
The 2023 Final Four is being played at NRG Stadium in Houston.
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But about those wagers. Early in the season Mack put down $1.05 million on Houston (+850) at FanDuel Sportsbook, added another $1 million on Houston (+900) at DraftKings and dropped $1 million on Houston (+800) at Caesars Sports. As the tournament drew closer, Mack dropped another $500,000 each on Houston at BetMGM (+1000) and Barstool Sportsbook (+900).
That’s a $4.05 million wager for an astounding $39.475 million payout including his stake. It wouldn’t be surprising if Mack adds a little more onto his bet if Houston advances to the Final Four, either.
After skipping out on a Super Bowl bet this year, he’s likely got plenty of cash remaining from the $75 million payout he earned on the Houston Astros’ 2022 World Series title. Those winnings don’t go right into his pocket, however. He has to pay out customers who took advantage of his gambit.
This time around anyone who spends more than $5,000 on purchases in his stores gets their money back if Houston wins the NCAA tournament. With the Final Four in Space City, surely some visiting fans will consider heading over to his stores to make some big purchases if Houston reaches the title game.
Of course, that’s the whole point of this thing, isn’t it? Big sales, big bets, big profits. Anyway you look at it, Mack tends to come out a winner.