Astros’ World Series Loss Closes Book on Mattress Mack Saga

By Brant James

Aug 12th, 2025 12:44 PM EST

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Sleep well, Houston. But you're paying for those new beds now.

Jim "Mattress Mack" McIngvale appreciates your business, especially after his millions in bets on the Astros to win the World Series melted under a hail of champion from the unlikely champion Washington Nationals on Wednesday. McIngvale's wagers didn't pay off, but his extremely successful, extremely high-profile promotion at three Gallery Furniture stores will a least assure the bills for all those $3,000 mattresses are now due.

And so ends the yarn of the most interesting team in sports betting and the most high-profile baseball bettor of the season. All it took was about $11 million in bets and sportsbooks willing to take pieces of McIngvale’s decidedly one-percenter indemnity policy against his promotion that refunded the purchase price of mattresses bought during a select period if Houston won the World Series.

McIngvale stood to lose at least $20 million in his latest sports-related bedding promotion. But he would have raked around $19 million in profit from futures bets and almost another $2 million in single-game wagers throughout the duration of the series. That’s not to mention the invaluable amount of free publicity his baseball betting brought.

Mattress Mack Betting Trail Hit Mississippi, N.J., Nevada

McIngvale’s spree began on Oct. 1 when he placed a a $3.5 million bet on the Astros at DraftKings Scarlet Pearl Sports Book (Miss.). He’d pined publicly in the previous week that no outlet was willing to risk his wager on the consensus favorites.

McIngvale told Bookies.com that placing the bet was "a little nerve-wracking," but obviously not enough to slow him. He logged a $1.5 million wager with FanDuel in New Jersey the next day, which trade director John Sheeran said was the largest-ever made via a mobile app. McIngvale entered Tuesday with around $4 million bet at various outlets at New Jersey sportsbooks.

Houston left fans and bettors dumbfounded in the World Series and twice during the regular season after losing as astronomical favorites

About the Author

Brant James

More About Brant

Brant James has written for SI.com, ESPN.com, USA TODAY and the Tampa Bay Times, among other publications.

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