Forty-eight hours before the first pitch of the World Series, 71-year-old Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale anxiously awaits the opportunity to make sports betting history.
Throughout the season, McIngvale has been touring different sportsbooks to place a total of $10 million in bets on the Astros to win the Fall Classic. At average odds of +750, Mack is now favored to win an unbelievable $75 million on his hometown team to win it all.
In June, McIngvale hopped on a private jet to Lake Charles, La., to get down a $2 million bet on the Astros to win the World Series at +500 at Barstool Sportsbook. This came after he put down several million dollars in bets at Caesars Sportsbooks and Wynn Sportsbooks across the country.
Now, there is a built-in hedge here, as McIngvale uses these bets to drive sales for his customers at his Gallery Furniture location in Texas. Typically, he gives customers a refund of their qualifying purchase over $3,000 when his bets win. But the stakes are even higher now.
Customers are now able to get twice their purchase refunded — spending $3,000 means customers would get $6,000 back.; a $5,000 spend would mean $10,000 back and so on. There is no mention of a maximum purchase.
Currently, the Astros are -190 to win the World Series at BetMGM, meaning they have about a 65 percent chance to do so, and cashing in for McIngvale in a historic way.