Solve this equation: Love the March Madness odds Houston cougar + Quarterfinals in Houston + Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale.
The answer for some sports betting execs: Big money headaches are lurking.
McIngvale, the Houston furniture store magnate betting big, has $3.55 million in bets on the Cougars to win the national championship. Houston stepped in crazy march as the favorite championship contender, and if all goes well, Mattress Mack will rake in $35 million in profits. He would then go back and give it to his customers because it was customary for the stakes to be a hedge against the promotion at his furniture store.
And he may not have finished betting. Let’s find out how McIngvale got to this point and what could be next.
Mack Impact Mattress
Typically, McIngvale’s promotion is for bedding sets that cost $3,000 or more for customers. Hence, his nickname is Mattress Mack. In this case, customers who buy furniture worth $5,000 or more – anything in the store – will get a refund if Cougars lifts the trophy on April 3.
McIngvale said the promotion has been going on for months and will continue for at least another week. All of his hedge bets were made at the start of the season, including three seven-figure bets: $1.05 million for Houston +850 at FanDuel Sportsbook; $1 million on Houston +900 at DraftKings; and $1 million on Houston +800 at Caesars Sports.
Also, Mattress Mack made a double bet worth $500,000 on Houston, at +1000 with BetMGM and +900 with Barstool Sportsbook. Houston (March 31) is the top seed of the Midwest region, and McIngvale is in pretty good shape at the moment.
“The cougars have a good team. They have a good shot,” he said in the introduction to more than 500 favorites. “It’s like the Astros last season. They’ve got a good route to get there and just go out and play well.”
Astronomical Victory
McIngvale knows a lot about the Astros. In addition to that World Series title, he has made more than $70 million from futures bets. Now, he is aiming for another $35 million more and hopes the hometown advantage will work. If the Cougars make it to the Quarterfinals, they will sleep in their own beds.
“Four Finals here in Houston are a big part of it, in addition to Houston’s recent success in the NCAA Tournament,” McIngvale said. “I think those are good for a futures bet.”
In 2018-19, Houston reached the first round of Sweet in 35 years. Then, in 2020-21, the Cougars made it to the Finals before losing to eventual champion Baylor. Last year, Houston bowed to Villanova after running to the Elite Eight.
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Oddmakers fasten seat belts
Unsurprisingly, McIngvale’s $1 million bet at Caesars was the largest March Madness bet in that book, according to Adam Pullen, assistant director of trading. The only other bettor who could win over $1 million: a Virginia customer placed a series of bets – just $1,127 in total – on the 12th seed and the Oral Roberts mega-long shot.
If the seemingly impossible happens to Oral Roberts, that bettor will win $1.5 million. A much bigger problem for Caesars and the rest of the aforementioned books is Mattress Mack’s money.
“We were the losers in Houston, Oral Roberts and West Virginia,” Pullen said, though the risk room certainly isn’t too worried about the latter two.
“Mack’s bet on Houston messes things up. Normally, we’re responsible for between five and 10 teams. It’s unusually low to have three teams this year, [but] we rarely bet $1 million on college basketball future.”
And Mack may not be done yet, as his customer base continues to participate in the promotion.
“Any promotion that focuses on a local group has more power,” he said. “If the Cougars keep winning, then I’ll probably have to bet more.”
To reiterate, nearly all of his winnings are used to offset his furniture promotions. And Mattress Mack also lost a lot in these big bets. But it’s still fascinating to follow. As Houston prepares for a first-round game against 16th seed Northern Kentucky on Thursday night, McIngvale is in full speech coach mode.
“All I know right now is that they have to beat Northern Kentucky. One game at a time,” he said. “Victory Thursday night, then worry about Saturday.”
Patrick Everson is a sports betting analyst for FOX Sports and a senior reporter for VegasInsider.com. He is a well-known journalist in the field of national sports betting. He lives in Las Vegas, where he enjoys playing golf in the 110 degree heat. Follow him on Twitter: @PatrickE_Vegas.
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