An Astros fan who goes by the moniker “Mattress Mack” thanks to his Houston-area furniture retail business is hoping to lay down an outrageous bet on his favorite MLB team winning another World Series.
Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale, proprietor of Gallery Furniture in Houston, is attempting to find a sportsbook willing to accept a $10 million wager on the Astros winning it all, and it sounds like he’s having difficulty.
McIngvale has enlisted the services of two “high-level gamblers” from Las Vegas, according to an ESPN report, in a bid to seek out a U.S.-based bookmaker amenable to his big-buck wager.Efforts in Nevada and New Jersey have yet to pay dividends, but FanDuel, operating out of the Meadowlands Racetrack in New Jersey, has offered to take up McIngvale’s bet pending approval from state regulators. McIngvale says his motivation to place such a huge wager on the Astros stems in large part from a desire to cover any potential losses he may incur related to an Astros-based promotion he’s running at his furniture store.The offer is that if the Astros do indeed win the World Series, any customer who purchases a mattress costing $3,000 or more will have their money refunded. Sales have spiked since the Astros acquired Zack Greinke at the trade deadline, McIngvale says, as well as when fellow ace Justin Verlander pitched a no-hitter on Labor Day weekend.“The customers aren’t dumb,” McIngvale said. “They know what’s going on. They’re hedging themselves as well.”With the Astros sitting at around +220 to win the World Series at most sportsbooks, McIngvale stands to win more than $20 million to defray the costs of his promotion.This isn’t McIngvale’s first go-around with these kind of promos. He did a similar thing in 2014 related to the Astros season win total, losing $4 million in the process. He also refunded $13 million after the Astros won it all in 2017.“It worked out well for the Astros and it worked out well for our customers,” McIngvale said. “That’s all that matters.”
https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb...ocid=INSSPBD10McIngvale has enlisted the services of two “high-level gamblers” from Las Vegas, according to an ESPN report, in a bid to seek out a U.S.-based bookmaker amenable to his big-buck wager.Efforts in Nevada and New Jersey have yet to pay dividends, but FanDuel, operating out of the Meadowlands Racetrack in New Jersey, has offered to take up McIngvale’s bet pending approval from state regulators. McIngvale says his motivation to place such a huge wager on the Astros stems in large part from a desire to cover any potential losses he may incur related to an Astros-based promotion he’s running at his furniture store.The offer is that if the Astros do indeed win the World Series, any customer who purchases a mattress costing $3,000 or more will have their money refunded. Sales have spiked since the Astros acquired Zack Greinke at the trade deadline, McIngvale says, as well as when fellow ace Justin Verlander pitched a no-hitter on Labor Day weekend.“The customers aren’t dumb,” McIngvale said. “They know what’s going on. They’re hedging themselves as well.”With the Astros sitting at around +220 to win the World Series at most sportsbooks, McIngvale stands to win more than $20 million to defray the costs of his promotion.This isn’t McIngvale’s first go-around with these kind of promos. He did a similar thing in 2014 related to the Astros season win total, losing $4 million in the process. He also refunded $13 million after the Astros won it all in 2017.“It worked out well for the Astros and it worked out well for our customers,” McIngvale said. “That’s all that matters.”
