‘Mattress Mack’ loses millions in bets on Bengals
Caesars Sportsbook won multiple seven figures, including $9.5 million in straight up bets on the Bengals made by Houston furniture store owner Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale.
Sunday’s wagers on Cincinnati (+170) to upset the Los Angeles Rams would have netted him $16.2 million.
McIngvale placed a $5 million money-line wager to win $8.5 million on Cincinnati on Friday . He already had a $4.5 million bet on the Bengals on the money line (+170).
He drove himself across the border to Louisiana, where he pulled over at a rest stop and placed the $5 million bet on his Caesars Sportsbook mobile app. The money line is a bet on the winner of the game, regardless of the point spread.
Caesars said it was the largest bet the book has ever taken, eclipsing a $4.9 million wager on the St. Louis Rams on the money line (-900) over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXVI. The Patriots won 20-17.
McIngvale has now lost $22.3 million in wagers — which are hedges against furniture promotions — since winning $2.7 million on Tampa Bay in last year’s Super Bowl.
Those losses include:
— $1 million on Houston to win the NCAA title.
— $2.4 million on Essential Quality to win the Kentucky Derby.
— $4 million on the Astros to win the World Series.
— $2.7 million on Alabama to win the College Football Playoff national title game.
— $2 million on the Patriots to win the Super Bowl.
— $1.7 million on the Titans to win the Super Bowl (offset by a $1 million win on the Bengals +3½ over Tennessee in the divisional round).
— $9.5 million on the Bengals in the Super Bowl.
He watched Sunday’s Super Bowl at Camp Hope with combat veterans battling post-traumatic stress disorder and said that helped him keep his gambling losses in perspective.
“Even though I lost $10 million, when I see those guys struggling to get back in society and battling valiantly to try to turn their lives around, me losing a football game is not a big deal,” McIngvale said. “I had a good time with them cheering for the Bengals. We got really close on that one. We live to play another day.”
Todd Dewey can be reached at tdewey@reviewjournal.com.
