“Mattress Mack” isn’t hedging his huge World Series bet — at least not at current prices.
In keeping with his recent run of making eye-catching wagers on major events at retail and online sports betting sites, Texas furniture salesman Jim "Mattress Mack" McIngvale has $10 million riding on the outcome of the Major League Baseball playoffs.
Now, with the World Series set to begin tonight, McIngvale stands to win $75 million if the favored Houston Astros can defeat the Philadelphia Phillies.
That payout is likely the largest ever in the history of legal sports betting, and, as is McIngvale’s wont, he plans to funnel his winnings back to the customers of his Texas-based company, Gallery Furniture.
So, will Mack hedge his bets, and try to ensure a smaller windfall in the event of a Phillies win? Curious minds have been asking.
“Not in 1,000 years,” McIngvale said again on Thursday. “Go ‘Stros.”
Headboard hedging
Technically, though, you could say Mack has already been hedging in furniture sales, not wagering dollars. For example, Gallery Furniture had been offering to pay back customers who spend $3,000 or more on a mattress sleep set if the Astros win the World Series.
Mack also said on Thursday that they had jacked up the Astros-related promotion in the summer, offering to refund customers double what they paid for their furniture. Indeed, when Covers heard McIngvale speak in July, he said he had bets on the Astros that would pay $41 million, so clearly his World Series liability has grown.
“If the bet hits, then I’ll get the $10 million in capital back that I invested, so I don’t have any costs in the promotion,” McIngvale said during a media availability. “And if the Phillies win, then I’m out the $10 million, so, I have a vested interest in this either way, but my real interest is making sure the customers win.”
McIngvale isn’t intending to bet more on the Astros either (although he’s eyeing a potential promotion tied to the World Cup), as the current price for them to win the World Series is a bit too steep for his taste. Gallery Furniture’s World Series promotion ended on Monday as well.
“We’re going to sit chilly and pull for the Houston Astros and hopefully they’ll get it done,” Mack said.
Wynn Sports Book. "We are open to a hedge at +185 if you want it"
— @MattressMack (@MattressMack) October 26, 2022
(Phillies Win World Series - Bet a $1,000,000. Win $1,850,000.)
Mattress Mack reply:
"NOT IN A THOUSAND YEARS - GO 'STROS!!!!"@gallerysports #LevelUp
Still, the promotion and the bets tied to it have bookmakers sitting on a rather sizable liability themselves.
The $75-million potential payout to Mack would include $33 million from Caesars Sportsbook, thanks to a 10/1 future wager on the Astros winning the World Series (which Mack said he thinks he made from the parking lot of a Subway sandwich shop in Louisiana).
“This would be the biggest payout in the history for any sports bet, I believe, anywhere, anytime,” said Ken Fuchs, the chief operating officer and head of sports at Caesars Sportsbook.
While Caesars is sweating the bet alongside McIngvale, it has received “a number” of six-figure wagers on the World Series, especially on the Phillies to win, Fuchs said. More of those plays from bettors around the country are expected as well, although Mack’s remains the biggest.
“At the end of the day, it's a really large bet,” Fuchs said during the media availability with McIngvale. “It's not something that you look to offset. It's the nature of the business and that's what we do. Caesars is the biggest casino company in the world. And so we're used to taking those risks and we're on that side of it this time with Mack.”
