Sportsbooks off hook for another $72M payout to ‘Mattress Mack’
“Mattress Mack” won’t be leaving Las Vegas with another wheelbarrow full of cash after the World Series.
Houston furniture store owner Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale and the Astros fell short in their bid to beat sportsbooks out of more than $72 million for the second straight year when the Astros lost to the Rangers on Monday in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series.
A year after McIngvale won a record $72.6 million in wagers on Houston to win the 2022 World Series, he lost $9.9 million in bets on the Astros that would have paid $72.4 million.
“You win some, you lose some, and sometimes you get rained out,” said McIngvale, 72. “It is what it is. It’s been fun being on the train. You take what you get, and you move on. Us gamblers have to be resilient.”
It turns out McIngvale had much more money riding on the Astros than was previously reported.
He wagered a total of $4.9 million to win $31.4 million at Caesars Sportsbook, $3 million to make $23.5 million at DraftKings Sportsbook and $2 million to win $17.5 million at FanDuel Sportsbook.
All but one wager were on the Astros to win the World Series. McIngvale also made a $500,000 bet to win $4 million (8-1) at DraftKings on Houston to win the American League pennant.
“Had they won the ALCS, I would’ve bet that right back on the World Series,” he said.
Here is the list of World Series wagers:
— $2 million to win $9 million (+450), Caesars.
— $1.9 million to win $11.4 million (6-1), Caesars.
— $1 million to win $11 million (11-1), Caesars.
— $2 million to win $12 million (6-1), DraftKings.
— $500,000 to win $7.5 million (15-1), DraftKings.
— $1 million to win $10 million (10-1), FanDuel.
— $1 million to win $7.5 million (+750), FanDuel.
The bets were the latest in a series of multimillion-dollar wagers to reduce risk on promotions at his Gallery Furniture stores. In this case, customers who made purchases of $3,000 or more would have gotten their money back if the Astros won the World Series.
Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.
