If you know anything about Jim McIgnvale aka Mattress Mack, it’s that he sells mattresses. But if you know two things about him, it’s that he sells mattresses and uses the earnings from those sales to place astronomical amounts of money on sports bets.
Sometimes it works in his favor — like his 2020 bet on the Super Bowl — but mostly he just loses a lot. That includes the $3.25 million he bet on the Houston Astros to win last year’s World Series, which would’ve returned $35.6 million.
This year McIngvale has $10 million on the Astros, and he’s just four wins from winning $75 million after they swept the Yankees to advance to the World Series.
The only thing between him and what would be the largest recorded payout in legal sports betting history are the Philadelphia Phillies.
Mattress Mack is 4 wins away from winning $75 million on the Astros.
It would be the largest recorded payout in legal sports betting history. pic.twitter.com/CQznfQGWgD
— Action Network (@ActionNetworkHQ) October 24, 2022
We wrote in May about the initial $3 million bet he placed on the Astros. But since then, he increased his stake by another $7 million.
Of course, a loss doesn’t actually mean McIngvale is out that much money. He uses promotional mattress sales as hedges for his bets, promising customers their money back if the team he bets on wins, which drives sales to cover the cost of his bet.
That’s particularly effective when the money is on a Houston-area team, where most of his customers are likely to also be fans and optimistic about their chances.
