SWING OF FORTUNE
How Texans really missed out on a Mattress Mack-sized opportunity
Feb 15, 2022, 12:32 pm
Mattress Mack profited from multimillions worth of free publicity. Composite image by Brandon Strange.
It was a final score almost as newsworthy as the Los Angeles Rams 23-20 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI.
Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale, owner of Gallery Furniture on “I-45 between Tidwell and Parker,” lost $9.5 million, including the biggest wager ever placed on the Super Bowl, by betting straight up on the losing Bengals. Had the Bengals won, Mack would have turned a $16.2 million profit, about a $25 million swing of fortune.
It’s been a rough go lately for Mack on his gambling bottom line. In addition to dropping $9.5 million on the “Big Game,” he bet and lost $2 million on New England to win the Super Bowl, $700,000 on the Tennessee Titans to win the Super Bowl, and $6.15 million on Alabama to win the College Football Playoff.
Let’s go to the tote board: Mattress Mack is more than $18 million in the hole for 2022 – and it’s only February.
Add in Mattress Mack’s mammoth multimillion dollar losing bets on the Houston Astros ($3.2 million in 2021, $13 million in 2019), one might suspect he would slow his roll of the dice on sports. If you think that, you don’t know Mattress Mack. While he admitted that his Super Bowl loss stung, he felt worse that his customers lost out on getting free furniture. Hedging his bets, Mattress Mack ran a promotion – customers who spent more than $3,000 at his store would get their money refunded if the Bengals won.
"The Bengals lost, and it broke my heart because I wanted to see the customers get their money back, but it didn't work out that way," McIngvale commiserated on ESPN. "But you know what, we live to play another day. You win some, you lose some and sometimes you get rained out. I got up this morning, put on my big boy britches and went to work."
Despite losing millions on his wagers, Mattress Mack profited from multimillions worth of free publicity. He was all over TV, including ESPN, CNN and local stations, talking about his historic wagers. He also bought tons of commercial time mentioning that customers could buy high-quality, made in America mattresses, dining room sets and sofas at Gallery Furniture and possibly get their purchase free, free, free! He’s been on TV more than Steve Harvey lately.
While most people on social media, especially in Houston, expressed sympathy for local hero Mack, others reveled in his losses. Of course, politics enters everything with one follower claiming Mattress Mack caught some instant karma for backing former President Donald Trump and not supporting Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo.
Mack shouldn’t feel that the betting gods are picking on him. According to sportsinformationtraders.com, studies show that only 3 to 5 percent of sports bettors make money over the long haul. You know who does make cheddar in the sports wagering industry? Casinos and handicappers who sell their betting tips. Many handicappers promise to give away free selections on a taped phone recording. You want a friend for life? Call one of those toll-free numbers. Thanks to Caller ID, you’ll get return calls from the handicapper’s boiler room until you beg for mercy.
While Mack is going through a cold streak that would make the South Pole envious, the really big loser is Texas. How silly was it that Mack had to drive over the border into Louisiana to make his bets legally, with a TV reporter in tow naturally. Louisiana is one of 30 states that allows sports gambling. Texas has been rock hard against casino and sports gambling and the earliest the state legislature will even consider it is next year. However, gambling’s odds are improving with the Houston Texans pushing for legalized betting and big out-of-state money hustling our elected officials.
Mack really didn’t have to flee to Louisiana to make his bets. He could have pulled his phone out of his pocket and bet on any of hundreds of online wagering sites. Nobody’s sitting in a basement with headphones on tracing phone calls. I once opened an account at sportsinteraction.com based in Ireland, made one bet, won it, and cashed out. Got a check in the mail from the Wells Fargo Bank in Dublin.
Online gambling sites let you bet on much more than sports. For example, you can bet on the sex of a celebrity’s baby, political races (Trump currently favored), dead pools, whether the female Super Bowl halftime singer will show cleavage, even the Academy Awards. Right now, you can risk your hard-earned money on who’ll win the Oscar for Best Makeup and Hairstyling. The odds-on favorite is The Eyes of Tammy Faye. That’s a movie?
You want a good time? Place a reasonable bet that you can afford to lose on a game and watch the game in a casino’s sports book. Every play is life and death, there’s whooping and hollering, and some sports books offer free hot dogs. It’s exciting.
My friend Glen Macnow from WIP radio in Philadelphia was the first person to make a legal sports bet in Delaware in 2018. He put $50 on the Phillies to win that night. They won, he’s brilliant. He also placed a $100 future bet on the Eagles returning to the Super Bowl in 2019. They didn’t, what was he thinking? Because I live in Texas, where politicians are afraid to put gambling on the ballot, the best I could do was buy the first Krispy Kreme doughnut in Houston, after spending the night under a blanket on a lawn chair in the parking lot. I consider that a big win.
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With the Astros now officially ten games under .500 for the season, manager Joe Espada is taking a lot of heat from the fanbase for the team's struggles.
While we don't agree with the sentiment, we even hear fans clamoring for the return of Dusty Baker and Martin Maldonado, thinking the Astros wouldn't be in this mess if they were still here.
Which is ridiculous. First of all, Maldonado has been awful for the White Sox, hitting .048 (even worse than Jose Abreu's .065). And for those of you that think his work with the pitching staff justifies his pathetic offense. Let me say this: Where was Maldy's game calling genius for Hunter Brown, Cristian Javier, and Framber Valdez last year? All of them regressed significantly.
And as far as Baker is concerned, we have no idea how much a difference he would make, we can only speculate. Baker would also be dealing with a pitching staff ravaged with injuries. And let's not forget, Baker was the guy that refused to move Jose Abreu down in the batting order, even though he would finish the regular season with the ninth-worst OPS in baseball.
The reality of the situation is managers can only do so much in baseball. Which leads us to something else that needs to be considered. Is Espada being handcuffed by the front office? Espada and GM Dana Brown both said recently that Jon Singleton was going to get more at-bats while they give Abreu time off to try to figure things out. Yet, there Abreu was in the lineup again in the opening game of the Cubs series.
It makes us wonder how much power does Espada truly have? The Astros have some other options at first base. Yainer Diaz may only have eight games played at the position, but how much worse could he be than Abreu defensively? Abreu already has four errors, and Diaz is obviously a way better hitter. Victor Caratini isn't considered a plus offensive player, but his .276 batting average makes him look like Babe Ruth compared to Abreu. Let him catch more often and play Diaz at first. Starting Diaz at first more often could also lengthen his career long-term.
Maybe that's too wild of a move. Okay, fine. How about playing Mauricio Dubon at first base? I understand he doesn't have much experience at that position, but what's the downside of trying him there? If he can play shortstop, he can play first base. He's driving in runs at a higher rate (11 RBIs) than everyone on the team outside of Kyle Tucker and Yordan Alvarez. And he's producing like that as part-time player right now.
The other criticism we see of Espada is his use of Jon Singleton to pinch hit late in games. Let's be real, though, who else does Espada have on the roster to go to? Batting Abreu late in games in which you're trailing should be considered malpractice. Espada can only use who he has to work with. This all really stems from the Astros poor farm system.
They don't have anyone else to turn to. The draft picks the club lost from the sign-stealing scandal are really hurting them right now. First and second rounders from 2020 and 2021 should be helping you in 2024 at the big league level.
Maybe they go to Astros prospect Joey Loperfido soon, but after a hot start he has only two hits in his last six games.
Finally, we have to talk about what seems like a committee making baseball decisions. Lost in a committee is accountability. Who gets the blame for making poor decisions?
As time continues to pass it looks like moving on from former GM James Click was a massive mistake. He's the guy that didn't sign Abreu, but did trade Myles Straw (recently DFA'd) for Yainer Diaz and Phil Maton. He also built an elite bullpen without breaking the bank, and helped the club win a World Series in 2022.
The reality of the situation is Dusty Baker and James Click are not walking back through that door. And all good runs come to an end at some point. Is this what we're witnessing?
Don't miss the video above as we hit on all the points discussed and much more!
Catch Stone Cold 'Stros (an Astros podcast) with Charlie Pallilo, Brandon Strange, and Josh Jordan. We drop two episodes every week on SportsMapHouston's YouTube channel. You can also listen on Apple Podcast, Spotifyor wherever you get your podcasts.