Mattress Mack bet big on the Super Bowl underdog and it paid off.
Jim McIngvale bet $3.46 million on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers +3.5 points in Sunday’s Super Bowl. The Bucs thrashed the Chiefs 31-9, making McIngvale an easy winner. Tampa Bay was a 3.5-point underdog, meaning, for McIngvale to win his bet, all the Bucs had to do was not lose by more than three points. They didn’t need any points.
McIngvale placed the bet through DraftKings on Thursday.
As usual, McIngvale’s bet was his way of hedging one of his in-store promotions. Like he has done for other big sporting events in the past, McIngvale’s Gallery Furniture stores offered customers a chance to win free furniture if the Bucs won. If customers spent $3,000 or more on a Tempur-Pedic, Sealy or Stearns & Foster mattress/box spring and/or adjustable base, they get their money back since Tampa Bay won.
“I think it’s great,” McIngvale told Fox 26’s Mark Berman after the game. “Obviously, Tampa Bay played terrific. The happiest thing for me is so many customers were thrilled watching that game with their families. They’re getting a free mattress and they made the right choice buying from us during this promotion. Our customers believe in us and put their faith and trust in us. It doesn’t get much better than that. It’s a very happy night for me.”
According to Action Network’s Darren Rovell, it was the biggest bet placed on this year’s Super Bowl, supplanting a $2.3 million wager someone placed on the Bucs at BetMGM last week.
In 2019, McIngvale bet about $13 million on the Astros to beat the Nationals in the World Series as a way to hedge against his in-store promotion. The Nationals beat the Astros in seven games.
Credits: https://www.chron.com/sports/texans/article/Mattress-Mack-Jim-McIngvale-wins-Super-Bowl-bet-15932444.php