The Houston Astros have made “Mattress Mack” the biggest winner in sports gambling history.
Houston mattress and furniture magnate Jim McIngvale won $75 million when the Astros won the World Series on Saturday night, beating the Philadelphia Phillies in six games
The money doesn’t exactly go into McIngvale’s pockets, it goes to his customers. As he has done in previous seasons, he used betting markets to insure his “If the Astros win, you win” promotion.
Now that the Astros have won it all, anyone who spent $3,000 or more can come back and get a refund for their purchases while keeping the items they bought.
McIngvale, who threw out the first pitch before Saturday’s game, bet a total of $10 million.
Early in the season, he bet $3 million on the Astros to win the World Series at Caesars at 10/1 and also plunked down $1 million at WynnBet.
In July, he wagered $2 million at BetMGM at 5/1, $2 million at Barstool at 5.3/1 (+533) and $1 million each at Unibet and Betfred, also at 5/1.
Caesars takes the biggest hit from Mack’s win, paying out $30 million.
Earlier this week, on its earnings call, Caesars CEO Tom Reeg alluded to the importance of Mack’s bet, saying it would have a material impact on the next quarter’s bottom line.
“I think most of you are aware we’ve got a fairly high-profile liability out there with the Astros, so that will be a swing factor in whether the fourth quarter is positive as a whole,” Reeg said.
Mattress Mack Wins $75 Million, Biggest Win in Sports Betting History
Mattress Mack has been a local Houston celebrity for decades. For years he has owned the largest and highest grossing single point furniture store in the nation.
Thats his entire thing....he has one massive furniture store and advertises non stop. His catch phrase "SAVE YOU MONEY" is stuck in every Houstonite's head.
He can be a bit odd, but overall has been really good to Houston. After bad storms, he will open up the store as a homeless shelter. He has a school in the furniture store as well.
By all accounts he started out with next to nothing and with that single store is now worth 250 million or so.
