BEDDING ODDS

THE WORLD’S MOST FAMOUS MATTRESS SALESMAN KEEPS WAGERING ON HIMSELF

OF ALL the images associated with the Astros’ World Series win, few will linger longer than footage of 71-year-old Jim Mcingvale’s carting $10 million in cash—a small chunk of the money he won betting on Houston—to his private jet in a wheelbarrow. Mcingvale (above), who’s better known as Mattress Mack, has been placing huge bets for years. Occasionally he’ll use them to hedge the promotions he runs at Gallery Furniture, the franchise he started out of a tent under a highway 40 years ago.

During the season, Mack announced that anyone who spent $3,000 at his stores would get double their money back if the Astros won the World Series. Since gambling is illegal in Texas, he had to cross state lines, which is why he was in a Subway parking lot one day dropping $3 million on his favorite team. When all his bets came in, Mack had won $75 million (on $10 million in bets), believed to be the largest legal take in history.

Not every bet this year hit for Mack. In May he put $1.5 million on Epicenter to win the Kentucky Derby, then watched as the horse came in second behind an 80–1 shot. Mcingvale also placed a series of wagers on the Bengals to win Super Bowl LVI against the Rams. The game cost him $9.5 million, but he said he sold $20 million worth of recliners in a promo that would have required him to reimburse patrons who bought a recliner before the game. He also dropped $1.2 million when Alabama lost to Georgia in the CFP title game.

Mack has been running furniture-related promotions since the Astros’ first World Series run, in 2017, but he’s been invested in sports results for decades. In November, Andy Roddick revealed that when he was too young to rent a car at the 2002 U.S. Clay Court Championships in Houston, Mcingvale’s wife, Linda, told Roddick he could borrow one and keep it if he won the tournament—which he did.