Mattress Mack, otherwise known as popular Houston furniture store magnate Jim McIngvale, bet over $13 million via multiple wagers on the Houston Astros to win the 2019 World Series. He lost $13 million when the Washington Nationals won back-to-back games in Houston to win the World Series.
If the Astros won the 2019 World Series, Mattress Mack would’ve banked $25 million according to business reporter Darren Rovell.
Rovell confirmed that Mattress Mack flew to Biloxi, Mississippi on the morning of Game 7 to place an additional $700,000 wager on the Astros.
History of Mattress Mack and Win It All
Over the last month, Mattress Mack made headlines by making various wagers on the Astros in the high-six figures and seven-figures range. The big bets on the Houston Astros were a hedge against a furniture promotion he ran during the regular baseball season.
The “Win It All” promo was simple. If you spent $3,000 or more at one of Mattress Mack’s three Gallery Furniture stores and the Astros won the World Series, he would refund your purchase.
Mattress Mack said his exposure for the promotion would cost him close to $20 million in refunds.
“I feel like I hedged perfectly,” Mattress Mack told Rovell after the Astros lost Game 7. “The worst my customers got were great mattresses, the best would have been great, free mattresses. I would have loved for the Astros fans to win, but we had two bad games.”
In 2017, Mattress Mack ran a similar promotion with Gallery Furniture. He lost in excess of $10 million when the Astros defeated the LA Dodgers in seven games to win the 2017 World Series. In 2017, Mack hedged off only $1 million in various bets on the Astros.
Mattress Mack had more options to place bets in 2019 with legalized sports betting in Mississippi and New Jersey.
Astros Reload
Mattress Mack initially made headlines at the start of the MLB playoffs when he placed a $3.5 million wager on the Astros to win the World Series.
Mattress Mack placed his largest singular wager at the Scarlet Pearl Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi. The sportsbook, run by Draft Kings, gave Mattress Mack +220 odds on his mega-wager. They were on the hook for $7.7 million if the Astros went all the way.
During the playoffs, Mattress Mack placed more wagers on his beloved Astros. He flew, via private jet, to wherever sportsbooks would accept his action, making stops in Atlantic City, Biloxi, and Las Vegas.
According to the Action Network, Mattress Mack placed wagers at nine different casinos in three states during the month of October.
Mattress Mack preferred hedging the furniture promo with sports betting instead of utilizing an insurance policy.
“I like the action,” Mattress Mack told Rovell. “I like the adrenaline and playing for high stakes. It makes you want to get up in the morning.”
When the Astros faced elimination in the 2019 ALDS against the Tampa Bay Rays, Mattress Mack fired away another $1.5 million on the Astros. At a sportsbook in downtown Las Vegas, Mattress Mack initially placed a $500,000 bet on the Astros in ALDS Game 5. William Hill also accepted a $1,000,000 wager on the Astros winning the ALDS.
The Astros defeated the Tampa Rays in Game 5 and moved on to the ALCS to face the Yankees. They did not sweat too hard against the Yankees, despite closing out the series in 6 games thanks to a Jose Altuve walk-off home run. The Astros won the American League pennant and advanced to the World Series for the second time in two years.
Year of the Nats
It just wasn’t meant to be for the Astros. The baseball gods blessed the Washington Nationals with a championship. The Nationals (originally the Montreal Expos) had never won a title. The Nats secured the first World Series win for the city of Washington DC since 1924. It only took 95 years to bring a baseball title back to DC.
The Nationals blew a 2-0 series lead after they lost three straight games at home against the Astros. With a 3-2 lead, the Astros needed only one victory in Houston to secure a title.
The Nationals made a valiant stand in Game 6 with a 7-2 victory. They tied the series to force a Game 7.
In Game 7, Zack Greinke pitched a strong outing, but manager AJ Hinch made a costly decision to pull his starter. The Astros blew a 2-0 lead when Nationals rallied with three runs off reliever Will Harris in the top of the seventh inning. The Nats tacked on a couple of insurance runs, and won 6-2 when the Astros could not orchestrate a comeback in the ninth inning.
With the loss in Game 7, Mattress Mack lost all of his wagers, totaling $13 million. However, his furniture stores came out ahead. Not to mention all the free publicity he received from the mainstream media, sports media, and gambling world over the last four weeks.
The sportsbook manager at the Scarlet Pearl in Biloxi is probably the happiest bookie in America right now. The Scarlet Pearl booked $6.2 million in bets for Mattress Mack.
No word yet on whether or not Mattress Mack made any futures bets on the Houston Astros to win the 2020 World Series.