Much like leaves falling off of trees indicates the changing of the seasons, you know it’s fall because the Houston Astros are back in the postseason and Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale has several million-dollar wagers on them.
A few weeks back, on Sept. 14, Mattress Mack placed a $2 million wager on the Astros to win the World Series at +600 at DraftKings Sportsbook. That’s on top of another $1.9 million bet that he reportedly has, per Fox Sports’ Patrick Everson, on the Astros at +600 to win the World Series at Caesars Sportsbooks.
All told, that’s $3.9 million in bets for a potential profit of $23.4 million.
For those unfamiliar with Mattress Mack, he uses such a pseudonym because he is the owner of the Gallery Furniture retail chain in Houston, Texas. Much like with his other large sports wagers, this one is tied to a furniture promotion, where if customers buy $3,000 or more in specified mattresses, they received a full refund if the Astros win their second straight World Series.
In other words, if the Astros win, the customers win and Mack cashes his bets. If the Astros lose, Mack loses the bets, but keeps all the money from the customers who purchased mattresses. Either way, Mack gets the promotion for his store.
Due in large part to that wager, the Astros have the highest percentage of total dollars wagered (32 percent) of any team to win the World Series at DraftKings Sportsbook, but only 7 percent of the total bets.
Mattress Mack won what’s considered the largest legal bet in U.S. sports betting history last year, when he collected $30 million off a $3 million wager at 10-1 odds at Caesars for the Astros to win the World Series.
