Houston punter ‘Mattress Mack’ loses $16 million on World Series bets

A Houston furniture owner who outlaid millions of dollars on his team has been caught on camera the moment it all came crashing down.

A Houston furniture store owner lost $16 million after backing the Houston Astros to win the MLB World Series.

Jim McIngvale, known as “Mattress Mack”, was a spectator at Game Seven in Houston, and watched as over US$11 million in bets disappeared as the Washington Nationals defeated the hosts 6-2 to claim their maiden title.

The 68-year-old’s reaction was posted to Twitter, with the caption: “This is the face of a man who is three outs from losing more than 13 million on the Astros.”

Esta es la cara de un hombre que está a tres outs de perder más de 13 millones que apostó por los Astros, en el Juego 7 de anoche.

Se trata de Jim McIngvale, de 68 años, magnate de la industria mueblera de Houston. Sus apuestas le hubiesen hecho ganar más de 25 millones. pic.twitter.com/yLM6niybLR

— Agustín Díaz (@agustindiazg) October 31, 2019

McIngvale would have won more than US$25 million (approximately AU$36 million) if the Astros had been victorious. He placed multiple bets in three different states, travelling the US by private jet during the weeks leading into the World Series.

The Washington Nationals won Game 7 of the World Series 6-2, much to Mattress Mack’s dismay.

Surprisingly, the furniture mogul wasn’t concerned about the mammoth loss. Speaking to the Action Network, McIngvale explained how he had promised to refund all purchases of more than $3,000 in his furniture stores if the Astros won the title. His liabilities from the promotion are estimated to have been around $20 million.

“The worst my customers got were great mattresses, the best would have been great, free mattresses. I would have loved for the Astros fans to win, but we had two bad games,” McIngvale said.

“I would do this again tomorrow — and I probably will. It’s fun to be part of the greatest story in gambling history.

“I would like to thank Beau Rivage for not taking my $500,000 bet today. (Also) Unibet for always having the highest odds against the Astros, causing me to bet elsewhere.”