Mack loses again
Houston furniture magnate Jim ‘Mattress Mack’ McIngvale is licking his wounds after Texas’s 28-14 loss to Ohio State in the SEC Cotton Bowl cost him a $1.5m wager.
Ohio’s win over the Longhorns has also left Mack thinking twice about backing his beloved Houston Texans in the NFL Divisional Round against the Kansas City Chiefs.
“I’m thinking about it,” the Las Vegas Review-Journal cited McIngvale as stating.
It’s a tall order, though, playing (Chiefs quarterback Patrick) Mahomes.”
The Texans are 8-point underdogs against Mahomes and company on Saturday and 50-1 to win the Super Bowl.
Admission time
In the past, McIngvale hasn’t shied away from publicizing his big bets in advance. This time around, however, Mack tried to keep his $1.5m wager, which he made on the Longhorns back in early December at +390 odds, uncharacteristically quiet.
According to the LVR-J, Mack was asked on Friday if he was, indeed, the source of the $1.5m wager on the Longhorns to win the Cotton Bowl.
He ambiguously replied: “Maybe yes, maybe no.”
McIngvale later admitted it was him, a bet which would have placed $5.85m in his pocket after a total payout of $7.35m on a Texas win.
The reason for his caution?
“I didn’t want to jinx it and have people second-guessing me,” Mack explained. “If they had won that game, I would’ve bet some more, but it didn’t work out.”
On the mend
McIngvale is a well-loved figure in the Houston community and uses big bets to hedge his Gallery Furniture franchise’s promotions. If Texas had won the Cotton Bowl, customers who’d spent $4,000 or over in his stores would have received their money back.
just days ahead of a successful open-heart surgery in Houston
Mack placed the Longhorns bet with Caesars Sportsbook just days ahead of a successful open-heart surgery in Houston to address a leaky mitral valve after suffering blackouts in September.
Despite his recent Cotton Bowl loss, Mack said his health is improving and he was walking three miles a day. “It’s a long, uphill climb, but I’m much better than I was two weeks ago.” McIngvale, 73, added he’s “back to work all the time” and “doing good.”