Illustration by David Brinley
For the past few years, Houston furniture mogul Jim McIngvale—better known as Mattress Mack—has made headlines for his “Win it All” promotional stunt—a bet with customers to reimburse their mattress purchases worth more than $3,000 if the Astros win the World Series.
When the Astros won it all in 2017, McIngvale’s Gallery Furniture refunded more than $13 million to customers who had taken the bet. This year, as the Astros enter the playoffs among the favorites to win the World Series, McIngvale is hedging his bet with a $3.5 million wager on the Astros winning the World Series at a Mississippi Casino. If the Astros win, he’ll clear $7.7 million to help him reimburse customers, the Houston Chronicle reports.
“I have a happy feeling about this,” McIngvale tells the Chronicle. “I’m a huge Astros fan, and at the end of the day this is about the Astros and about our customers. I’m happy all the way and hope that the Astros can win 11 more games this year.”
As crazy as it seems, it’s fun to see a serious fan putting his money where his mouth is. Read more about McIngvale and love for Houston and the Astros in our June 2018 interview with the businessman.
