Mattress Mack Bets Big On The Houston Astros: Here's Which Company Could Lose, Why He Places Large Wagers

Houston Astros super fan Mattress Mack is back with some aggressive wagers on the 2021 World Series. Here’s how much he has wagered and why he is betting such a large amount.

What Happened: In June, Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale placed a $2 million wager on the Houston Astros to win this year's World Series.

The MLB championship won by the Astros would pay McIngvale $22 million for the win and mark the largest single U.S. sports betting payout in history.

McIngvale placed the wager with William Hill, the company that was acquired by Caesars Entertainment Inc CZR.

The bet with William Hill wasn't the only one placed on the Astros winning the World Series. McIngvale has other bets placed and a total payout of $35.6 million if the Astros win the World Series.

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Why It’s Important: Mattress Mack has made headlines over the years for his large wagers on the Astros.

“Obviously the Astros would be the worst-case scenario,” Caesars Vice President Craig Mucklow told the Action Network. “It’s an exciting bet to take, but it would be nice if they got knocked out early.”

McIngvale places the wagers on the Astros as a hedge against a promotion he runs at his Gallery Furniture. The “Astros Win” promotion offers customers who spend over $3,000 on mattresses their money back if the Astros win the World Series.

McIngvale lost millions on bets for the Astros winning the 2019 World Series.

An Astros win in the World Series could cost Mattress Mack $20 million in payouts to customers, which is one of the reasons he places the large wagers to hedge his own promotion. 

FanDuel, a unit of Flutter Entertainment PDYPY, turned out to be a big winner of the Washington Nationals winning the World Series, as it took big bets from McIngvale. The sports betting company said the 2019 World Series was its biggest singular event win in its 16-month history at the time.

“The Astros had a 55-45 spread in terms of bet count, but when it came to money, it was 85% to 90% in favor of Houston,” FanDuel’s director of risk and trading John Sheeran told Benzinga.

What’s Next: Mattress Mack threw out the first pitch before game one of the ALDS, which saw the Astros defeat the Chicago White Sox.

DraftKings Inc DKNG shows betting odds of -285 for the Astros to win the ALDS and +240 for the White Sox to come back and win the series.

The Astros winning the World Series are offered at odds of +400 on DraftKings, the second favorite to the Los Angeles Dodgers at +245.

Photo: Elsapo, via Wikimedia Commons