Major League Baseball

Mattress Mack bets big again on Houston Astros to win MLB World Series

Updated Mar. 29, 2023 11:33 a.m. ET

On Friday night, Jim "Mattress Mack" McIngvale was on hand for the grand opening of Horseshoe Las Vegas on the Strip. At the same time, in Kansas City, Mo., the top-seeded Houston Cougars were facing No. 5 seed Miami in the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16.

Houston went on to lose that game 89-75, bowing out of the tournament. And with that loss, McIngvale saw $4.05 million go up in smoke in the form of his championship futures wagers on the Cougars.

But it took almost no time at all for the Houston furniture store magnate to climb back on his big-betting horse. And it was with the same team that provided him a record-setting U.S. sports betting payout just a few months ago.

Let's dive into Mattress Mack's new big bet.

Another Astro-nomical Wager

You might recall that last fall, McIngvale had about $10 million in wagers on the Houston Astros to win it all. Those all came in, with Mattress Mack pocketing more than $70 million in profit.

His $4 million-plus in wagers on the Cougars would’ve netted about $35 million if Houston had won the NCAA tournament.

While partaking in Friday night’s festivities and after the Cougars lost, McIngvale decided to move on to his next big bet/big hedge. Keep in mind all of Mack’s large bets are hedges against promotions he runs for customers of his furniture store.

So McIngvale went to the counter at Caesars Sports and wagered $1.9 million on the Astros +600 to win the World Series.

"The Astros are a good team," McIngvale understatedly said of a Houston outfit that is now a quite short +400 favorite at Caesars Sports to repeat as champion.

But it’s worth shopping around if you want to bet on the Astros. For example, FOX Bet still has Houston at +600 as a three-way co-favorite with the New York Yankees and New York Mets.

At Caesars, the Yankees are the +750 second choice, followed by the Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers at +800, then the Atlanta Braves at +850.

Houston Astros season preview

Ben Verlander and Alex Curry bring you everything you need to know about the Houston Astros heading into the season.

More to Come?

So which of those teams will be the Astros’ toughest challenger?

"Not to be flippant, but it’ll be whoever gets hot," McIngvale said. "The Astros are very good, but so are others. You’ve gotta get hot at the right time."

Mack’s lone World Series bet would land $11.4 million in profit if the Astros repeat as champs. But it likely won’t be the last Astros wager he makes. Asked if more bets are on the way, he responded:

"If sales go up."

Patrick Everson is a sports betting analyst for FOX Sports and senior reporter for VegasInsider.com. He is a distinguished journalist in the national sports betting space. He’s based in Las Vegas, where he enjoys golfing in 110-degree heat. Follow him on Twitter: @PatrickE_Vegas.

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