A Houston furniture salesman, attempting to mitigate millions of dollars in potential refunds from a promotion, placed one of the largest bets ever taken by a U.S. bookmaker on Tuesday at a Mississippi sportsbook.
Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale, owner of Gallery Furniture in Houston, bet $3.5 million on the Astros to win the World Series at the DraftKings sportsbook at Scarlet Pearl casino in Biloxi, Mississippi. At +220 odds, the wager would pay a net $7.7 million if the Astros win the World Series.cheap nfl nike jerseys china
McIngvale wired the $3.5 million to the Scarlet Pearl on Monday and flew from Houston to Biloxi. He said Tuesday that the betting slip was in his pocket and joked that he’d probably keep it in his wallet, “which is secured by a bunch of rubber bands.”
McIngvale also recently placed a $200,000 World Series bet on the Astros +250 at the South Point in Las Vegas and has additional wagers for undisclosed amounts with Nevada bookmakers Caesars, MGM, Treasure Island and Circa Sports. He’s shopping around for more, too.
McIngvale’s $3.5 million wager at the Scarlet Pearl is nearly equal to how much was bet on baseball at Mississippi sportsbooks in the months of June, July and August combined.
“I think it’s the biggest [bet] that’s ever happened in Mississippi,” DraftKings chief revenue officer and co-founder Matt Kalish said.cheap nike nfl jerseys wholesale
Not only is it believed to be the biggest bet ever in Mississippi, but it’s also easily one of the largest wagers ever reported in the United States — and McIngvale might not be finished.
McIngvale has been in communication with multiple sportsbooks in New Jersey, inquiring about making large wagers. In early September, bookmaker FanDuel, after discussions with McIngvale, requested approval from New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement to accept a bet of greater than $5 million on the Astros.
“I’m just amazed how much DraftKings and Scarlet Peal took, and they didn’t blink an eye,” McIngvale said. “That’s pretty rare in the sports betting business in the United States for someone to take three and [a] half million dollars.”
For much of the baseball season, McIngvale has been offering to refund mattress-related purchases of $3,000 or more if the Astros win the World Series. He ran a similar promotion in 2017 and refunded more than $10 million in purchases, when Houston beat the Los Angeles Dodgers to win the franchise’s first World Series. That year, McIngvale placed more than $1 million in bets on the Astros with Las Vegas bookmakers, helping him limit his exposure from the promotion. This year, with more states offering sports betting, he has expanded options, including Mississippi and New Jersey.