‘Mattress Mack’ back with $1M bet on team to win NCAA Tournament
Mattress Mack is back with another big bet.
This time, Houston furniture store owner Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale wagered $1 million to win $7.5 million at Caesars Sportsbook on the Houston Cougars (+750) to win the NCAA Tournament.
Houston is now the 6-1 second choice at Caesars to win the title behind Connecticut, the +475 favorite. The NCAA men’s basketball championship game will be played April 8 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
“They’ve got a great team. They’re ranked No. 1. They’ve got great players, and they’ve got a great coach,” said McIngvale, 73. “We’ll see what happens. It’s the tournament, and the tournament is always exciting. It should be fun.”
The wager is the latest in a series of seven-figure bets by McIngvale to reduce risk on promotions at his Gallery Furniture stores. In this case, customers who make a purchase of $4,000 or more will get their money back if Houston wins the national title.
McIngvale lost $4.15 million last year in wagers on Houston to win the NCAA Tournament.
A year after he won a record $72.6 million on the Astros to win the 2022 World Series, he lost $9.9 million in October on Houston to repeat as World Series champions. He also dropped $500,000 on the Houston Texans in the NFL playoffs and lost $1 million on the Texas Longhorns to win the college football national title.
Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on X.