When the Houston Astros knocked off the Philadelphia Phillies November 5 to win the World Series in six games, Jim McIngvale won $75 million, making him the biggest winner in sports betting history.
The win, a season-long investment of $10 million among various sportsbooks by the Houston furniture magnate known as Mattress Mack, ranks among the more innovative promotions, according to Pechenga.net.
That’s right, a promotion—the “If the Astros Win, You Win” promo refunds anyone who spent $3,000 and up for purchases—and customers keep their furniture. After all, he’s now got $75 million in house money to hand out all those refunds.
And if the Phillies wound up knocking off the Astros? Kiss the $10 million goodbye, but all the income from those large furniture purchases stays in his company pockets. A win-win.
McIngvale bet $3 million on the Astros to win at Caesars at 10/1 at odds; $1 million at WynnBet. He laid down $2 million at BetMGM at 5/1; $2 million at Barstool at 5.3/1; and $1 million each at Unibet and Betfred, also at 5/1.
Caesars had the largest payout.
“What can we say? We just wrote the biggest check in sports betting history to Mattress Mack for $30 million. Would we do it all again? You bet,” Ken Fuchs, the COO of Caesars Digital, said. Caesars did more than pay off the bet. They helped support first responders and military veterans in Houston, Philadelphia and Atlantic City.
“And to Mack—we tip our Astros cap—and remind him that he can now support his Texans and Rockets … both attractively priced at +100,000 to win a championship. The Astros are also currently +550 to win next year’s Fall Classic.”
Caesars CEO Tom Reeg indicated in a conference call, that the payoff would impact the fourth quarter’s bottom line.
“I think most of you are aware we’ve got a fairly high-profile liability out there with the Astros, so that will be a swing factor in whether the fourth quarter is positive as a whole,” Reeg said.
