Mattress Mack is laughing all the way to the bank.
The Astros superfan, whose real name is Jim McIngvale, raked in $75 million USD ($117m AUD) in winning bets after Houston won the 2022 World Series on Saturday, defeating the Phillies in Game 6. According to multiple reports, the $75 million USD is believed to be the largest payout in sports betting history after he placed $10 million USD in bets across several sportsbooks.
Mattress Mack, the 71-year-old who owns the Gallery Furniture chain, initially placed a $3 million USD bet on the Astros to win the World Series with Caesars Sportsbook.
“What can we say? We just wrote the biggest check in sports betting history to Mattress Mack for $30,000,000,” Caesars Digital COO Ken Fuchs said Saturday night, according to ESPN.
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A chunk of Mattress Mack’s winnings will go towards paying customers on a promotion he ran at his furniture store, which gives customers refunds of double what they paid if they spent at least $3,000.
He is known for running massive promotions at his furniture stores that give customers their purchases for free, and then some, if local teams win championships. He then hedges those promotions with big bets on said teams.
Thus, while Mack would prefer the Astros to win the World Series, and he wins his bets, he makes off well financially even if the Phillies emerge victorious.
“Oh, it’s definitely a win-win,” McIngvale told ESPN last week. “These promotions just bring the brand to life and give us a ton of brand equity that we wouldn’t have otherwise.”
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One of the bets Mattress Mack placed was a $1 million USD wager on 5/1 odds at Betfred, which its US COO, Bryan Bennett, told ESPN was “significantly larger” than any bet the company has taken since opening stateside.
Things were looking bleak for Mattress Mack after the Phillies won Game 3 to take a 2-1 series lead. Mack was in Philadelphia for the games and got into an expletive-filled argument with Phillies fans after that loss.
“F-k you!” Mattress Mack could be seen yelling at a group of Phillies fans, who presumably were heckling him before filming of the viral video began. “F – k you, you asshole! F–k you!”
Mattress Mack, who threw out the ceremonial first pitch in Houston before Saturday’s game, released a long statement on Twitter after the Astros’ World Series win which said, in part, “I love y’all. I love this city. I would do anything for this city, and I would do anything for you.”
This story originally appeared on the NY Post and is reproduced with permission.
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