Biggest Sports Betting Payout
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After the Astros won the World Series, Mattress Mack won a record-breaking $75 million sports betting payout.
Who is Jim McIngvale?
Texas’ most powerful furniture mogul Jim McIngvale, better known by his nickname “Mattress Mack,” won $75 million on November 5, 2022. When his wager that the Houston Astros would win the World Series was successful. There has never been a larger payoff in the history of legitimate sports betting payout.
When asked at the game what he planned to do after winning $75 million, Mattress Mack said he’d be back to work the next morning at 9 a.m., though he joked about heading straight to Las Vegas. McIngvale has not yet cashed out the money because he responded to the question by saying he would be back to work.
SURPRISING FACT
Because gambling on sports is against the law in Texas, McIngvale had to travel to neighboring states to place his wagers. According to Forbes, he placed a single wager in the amount of $3 million in May while parked in front of a Subway sandwich restaurant in Louisiana, having just driven across the border from Texas.
This wager on the Astros is the most recent in a string of high-dollar wagers that McIngvale has made over the years. McIngvale frequently uses the wagers to hedge against promotions at his three furniture businesses in the Houston region.
Any buyer who purchased $3,000 or more on a mattress could receive it for free if the Astros won. Mcingvale told Forbes in October that he had sold mattresses worth $73 million due to marketing that offered the incentive. During May, June, and July, he even offered consumers a refund of twice the money they had paid.
At the beginning of this year, McIngvale bet that the Cincinnati Bengals would win the Super Bowl. Despite losing $9.5 million on the wager, he could still sell $20 million worth of furniture thanks to a similar ad that guaranteed to reimburse purchases if the Bengals won.
Over several decades, “Mattress Mack” has become well-known in the Houston region. His appearances in various advertisements for McIngvale’s business, Gallery Furniture, are frequently comedic, making him popular.
He is also involved in charitable work in the local community, and in 2017 he won widespread acclaim for offering refuge in his stores to those in need following Hurricane Harvey.
