‘Mattress Mack’ doubles down, wins $12.2M on Kansas
Mattress Mack finally won big.
All it took was the biggest comeback in NCAA championship game history.
Houston furniture store owner Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale won $12.2 million Monday night on Kansas to win the national title.
The Jayhawks stormed back from a 15-point halftime deficit to beat North Carolina 72-69.
Before the Final Four, Mack wagered $5.5 million to win $10.5 million on Kansas at +190 ($3.3 million at Caesars Sportsbook and $2.25 million at Barstool Sportsbook).
Mack doubled down at Caesars before the game Monday and made another $3.3 million bet to win $1.65 million on the Jayhawks on the money line at -200.
The $12.2 million windfall snapped a losing streak that saw Mack drop more than $25 million since the 2021 Super Bowl.
“A setback is just a setup for a comeback,” said Mack, 71. “Give credit to coach (Bill) Self and Kansas. They made a serious comeback.”
The wagers were the latest in a series of hedge bets by Mack to reduce risk on promotions at his Gallery Furniture stores.
His latest promotion guaranteed customers who bought $3,000 or more of furniture their money back if a Texas team won it all. But the promo included an added wrinkle that if a Texas team didn’t make the Final Four, customers would get the team located closest to Mack’s store in Houston. That was Kansas.
Mack estimates he’ll have to refund $13 million to $15 million in sales from the promotion.
“I’m happy for the customers,” he said. “I’m sure they were despondent at halftime. But now they’re thrilled. I can’t wait to have a refund party.”
After placing the $3.3 million money-line bet Monday in Louisiana, Mack saw that Kansas led 7-0 before he boarded a plane back to Texas.
“But when I got back to the store, they were down 15, and I was like, ‘Oh, here we go again,’” he said. “I didn’t pay attention until I got home and my wife said it was really close at the end.
“Kansas was up three points, and the last few seconds took an eternity.”
The Tar Heels had a chance to tie after Dajuan Harris Jr. stepped out of bounds with 4.3 seconds left after catching Kansas’ inbounds pass. But Caleb Love’s 3-pointer came up short as time expired.
“It was the greatest comeback in Mattress Mack history,” said Linda McIngvale, Mack’s wife.
Mack cleared $11.2 million in gambling winnings on the NCAA Tournament. He lost a $1 million bet to win $2.6 million on a team from the East Region to win it all that he placed at Caesars before the tourney.
The bet was a hedge against a Texas team winning the title, as No. 1 seed Baylor and Texas were in that region. No. 8 seed North Carolina was the unlikely East Region champ.
Mack refunded $12 million in 2017 when the Houston Astros won the World Series. The most recent refund party he hosted was after he won $2.7 million on a bet on Tampa Bay (+3½) over Kansas City in the 2021 Super Bowl.
He then lost $1 million on Houston to win the 2021 NCAA title; $2.4 million on Essential Quality to win the Kentucky Derby; $4 million on the Astros to win the World Series; $2 million on the Patriots to win the Super Bowl; $6.1 million on Alabama over Georgia in the CFP national championship; $1.7 million on the Titans to win the Super Bowl (offset by a $1 million win on Cincinnati +3½ over Tennessee in their playoff game); and $9.5 million on the Bengals on the money line over the Rams in the Super Bowl.
Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.