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Mattress Mack loses big after Astros fall to Rangers: 'It just didn't work out'
A year ago, Jim "Mattress Mack" McIngvale pocketed a record-setting sports-betting win on his Houston Astros. On Monday night, his effort to cash out huge two years in a row came to an end.
The Texas Rangers rolled over the Houston Astros 11-4 in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series, advancing to the World Series. In so doing, the Rangers squelched at least $7.9 million in Mattress Mack World Series wagers on the Astros.
Late Monday night, McIngvale took a few minutes to discuss the end of his latest huge hedge.
Let's dive into how it all played out.
Home is Where the Hurt Is
Surprisingly, all four of the Astros’ losses in the ALCS came on their home field. After Houston dropped Games 1 and 2, McIngvale took one last gamble, putting $1 million on Astros +750 to win the World Series, at FanDuel Sportsbook.
That upped the total of his known bets – he may have had more, including on the ALCS – to $7.9 million. Previously, he had three World Series bets with Caesars Sports and one with DraftKings Sportsbook:
- $1.9 million Astros +600 (Caesars)
- $1 million Astros +1100 (Caesars)
- $2 million Astros +450 (Caesars)
- $2 million Astros +600 (DraftKings)
Add up all five bets, and there was a potential win of $50.9 million for a total payout of $58.8 million. Mack’s final bet looked pretty good when the Astros won Games 3, 4 and 5 to take a 3-2 series lead and move within a game of the World Series.
But Houston couldn’t hold serve at home.
"Seven years in a row, they’ve been in the ALCS. And they were up 3-2 coming back to Houston. It looked really good," McIngvale said in a brief phone conversation. "But it just didn’t work out."
He didn’t belabor the loss.
"I got lots of good bets in. The odds I strung together were very good," he said.
Balancing the Books
Keep in mind, most of McIngvale’s betting activity is tied to promotions at his Houston furniture store – often on bedding purchases, hence the Mattress Mack nickname. Like last year, if the Astros won the World Series, anyone who bought a specific mattress set of $3,000 or more would get their money back.
With Houston now out, Mack lost all his bets, but his store retains all the money on the mattress purchases.
"The promotion was hedged almost perfectly," he said. "You do the best you can and move on to the next one."
And it sounds like there will be a next one for the 2024 MLB season. McIngvale fully anticipates making more big plays on his Astros.
"Absolutely. Seven years in a row is no fluke. They’ll be back next year, bigger and better than ever," he said. "Sometimes you get rained out, and you don’t look back."
Meanwhile, in the World Series, the Rangers will face either the Arizona Diamondbacks or Philadelphia Phillies. Those two meet Tuesday night in Game 7 of the National League Championship Series.
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.
