Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale, the owner of a furniture business in Houston, Texas, has become synonymous with placing seven-figure wagers on big professional sporting events, including the Super Bowl. However, as of right now, McIngvale has not placed a bet on Super Bowl 58.
The 72-year-old missed an opportunity to place a bet on Kansas City to win Super Bowl 58 in futures markets at +420 odds prior to their road win as underdogs against Baltimore during the AFC Championship game.
“I was going to bet $2 million on KC +420 to win it all. Then, like an idiot, I talked myself out of it at the last minute,” Mattress Mack said to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Red Carpet encounter
McIngvale saw Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes at the 2023 Kentucky Derby horse racing event at Churchill Downs. He told the reigning Super Bowl MVP that Mahomes cost him millions betting against him and the Chiefs during their Super Bowl 57 win over the Philadelphia Eagles. Mahomes apologized and advised McIngvale to be on his side during their next Super Bowl appearance.
McIngvale has already gone on record stating that he doesn’t like the betting lines ahead of Super Bowl 58 between San Francisco and Kansas City.
“The point spread’s too short for me. I’m gonna sit this one out because I can’t lay 100 to win 100,” he said.
McIngvale did say that he favors the Chiefs to win over the 49ers, referencing his previous betting losses that went against Mahomes, a two-time Super Bowl MVP.
“I’ve got to go with the Chiefs all the way because of the quarterback”, McIngvale told reporters.
Mattress Mack hits and misses
The Houston furniture store owner has made a name for himself in the sports betting industry based on the size of his wagers, which he’s done to counter the promotional offers he provides to customers at various Gallery Furniture store locations.
McIngvale won a staggering $72.6 million on his hometown Houston Astros capturing the 2022 World Series. However, there have been plenty of misses and bad beats along the way.
During Super Bowl 56 between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Los Angeles Rams, McIngvale lost $9.5 million wagering the Bengals moneyline odds. During the 2023 AFC Divisional Round matchup a few weeks ago, he placed $500,000 in total bets on the Houston Texans against the Baltimore Ravens.
Then there’s the ongoing money pit he’s dug by betting against Mahomes and the Chiefs in the playoffs during their dynastic run. Starting in 2020, McIngvale lost a sum of $3 million betting against Kansas City. The Texans lost a 24-0 lead in the AFC Divisional Round, the Tennessee Titans blew a 10-point lead during the AFC Championship game, and the 49ers also surrendered a 10-point fourth-quarter lead to Mahomes in Super Bowl 54.
In 2022, the Chiefs continued to bury McIngvale by beating the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20 in the AFC Championship game, ruining the $750,000 wager he placed on the Bengals at +1200 odds to win Super Bowl 57 in the NFL futures market.
Current line movement
Westgate Superbook vice president of risk Jeff Sherman has alluded to sharps being on the 49ers during early numbers, so the Las Vegas sportsbook moved the point spread to San Francisco -2.5 to attract money on the Chiefs.
"Everybody is at 2 and we just wanted to see if putting it out there at 2.5 might attract some Chiefs money at this point," Sherman said.
The market is “a little tilted on the Chiefs at +2.5 but nothing overwhelming,” according to Sherman, who added that he’d be surprised if the point spread ballooned up to Chiefs +3.
Kansas City has won back-to-back road playoff games as underdogs against Buffalo and Baltimore, while entering Super Bowl 58 with a 3-0 record against the 49ers in their last three head-to-head matchups, including Super Bowl 54.
