Mattress Mack Wins Record $75 Million Betting on Astros World Series Win

Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale has done it again.

Houston’s most famous mattress salesman has won the world’s biggest documented sports betting payout after backing the Houston Astros to win the 2022 World Series.

He wagered roughly $10 million at legal sportsbooks in the run-up to the World Series and took home $75 million worth of payouts after they accomplished the deed in six games.

The Houston resident is a town staple for more reasons than one. In addition to his tendency to spring into action when the community needs him, he has a well-deserved reputation for placing oversized sports wagers and tying them to attention-grabbing promotions at his Houston furniture store.

Mattress Mack’s Massive 2022 World Series Bet

With $10 million in wagers on the line and a potential $75 million payout waiting in the wings, Mattress Mack was quite likely more invested in the 2022 World Series than anyone else on the planet.

The Astros’ victory over the Phillies in the 2022 World Series gave Mattress Mack the claim to the biggest sports betting payout on record. But with his eye-wagering wagers tied to a massive sales promotion at Gallery Furniture, Mattress Mack was going to win no matter the outcome.

Here’s how McIngvale hedged his bets and ran one of the most effective furniture sales promotions the world has ever seen:

First, he launched a sales promotion at Gallery Furniture that promised double-the-money refunds on qualifying purchases if the Astros win the World Series. For example, someone who spent $3,000 during the promotion got back $6,000 after the Astros won.

That’s a lot of money flowing out, but Mattress Mack now has an extra $75 million to pay those refunds thanks to his winning Astros World Series wagers.

Had the Mattress Mack Astros bet lost, he would have missed out on his historic payout, but he also wouldn’t have had to issue all those refunds.

Ultimately, McIngvale created the ultimate win-win situation for himself and generated a ton of publicity at the same time.

Mattress Mack Had It All Figured Out

Jim McIngvale began his 2022 World Series betting journey in May with a $3 million bet at Caesars Sportsbook at 10-1 odds. He pumped an additional $7 million worth of wagers into the World Series at various sportsbooks as they made their way to the championship, with his payout odds averaging 7.5-to-1 for a potential payout of almost $75 million.

Those would be white-knuckle stakes for the average sports gambler, but Mattress Mack had it all figured out. He told Fox Business his Gallery Furniture promotion generated about $75 million in sales, with only some of those customers buying enough to qualify for a double-their-money refund.

After running the numbers, Mack said he struck an equilibrium between the refunds he owes and the $10 million he would have lost if the Astros bet came up short.

“If the bet hits, then I’ll get the $10 million in capital back that I Invested. So, I don’t have any cost in the promotion. And if the Phillies win that, I’m out the $10 million. So, I have a vested interest in this either way, but my real interest is making sure the customers win.”

Mattress Mack Is No Stranger to Big Bets

Mattress Mack isn’t a stranger to betting big on Houston’s hometown MLB team. He ran a similar in-store promotion last year and hedged it with about $3.35 million in wagers on the Astros to win the World Series.

Those wagers put him on pace to win a record-breaking $35 million had the Astros won. Unfortunately for Gallery Furniture customers, the Braves clinched the series in six games and let Mattress Mack off the hook for an untold number of refunds.

And even that year wasn’t his biggest loss. In 2019, Mattress Mack lost $13 million when the Astros suffered a hard-to-swallow loss to the Washington Nationals in Game 7 of the World Series. But as MarketWatch reported at the time, Mattress Mack gained an estimated $8.6 million in media marketing value alone with his attention-grabbing wagers.

Mattress Mack has also bet big on the Kentucky Derby, the Houston Cougars, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in their respective championships. He wins some and loses some, but he keeps on winning in the media game, and he keeps on coming back for more. Clearly, he’s doing something right.