Astros superfan 'Mattress Mack' loses $2 million betting against Chiefs
It hasn’t been a great year for a certain Houston gambling enthusiast’s bank account.
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Houston-area furniture chain owner Jim McIngvale, better known as “Mattress Mack,” lost nearly $12 million last year betting on the Astros to win the World Series, ostensibly as a way to hedge against a refund promotion for his stores. He had done the same thing in 2017, but it obviously worked out much worse last year.
McIngvale kicked off a new year of sports betting by turning his attention to a new sport, according to The Action Network. His bets: $1 million on the Houston Texans to beat the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC divisional round, then $1 million on the Tennessee Titans to beat those same Chiefs in the AFC championship game.
Yeah, that didn’t work out.
To be fair to McIngvale, both of his teams took double-digit leads over the Chiefs and would have given him quite a payday had either held on. The Texans were +400 underdogs against the Chiefs (odds from MGM), and the Titans were +290.
And then, well, Patrick Mahomes did what he does.
There might be an element of “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me” given that you’d imagine McIngvale watched the first game upon which he had bet a million dollars. Mahomes and the Chiefs dropping seven straight touchdowns left an impression on many people, but apparently not McIngvale.
Rather, his attention was on a different big performance in the AFC divisional round:
“I got tricked into thinking Derrick Henry was invincible,” he told The Action Network.
McIngvale at least isn’t alone there. He reportedly doubts he’ll make any bets on Super Bowl LIV.
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