Astros Win World Series, Mattress Mack Wins $75 Million

$10 Million to Win $75 Million

As Kyle Tucker caught a foul fly ball in the bottom of the ninth inning on Nov. 5, the Astros won the World Series and Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale won $75 million. 

Not only is Mattress Mack $75 million richer and a happy Astros fan, but he made history as having recorded the highest payout in sports betting history. 

He wagered $10 million across several wagers at several different sportsbooks including Caesars, Barstool, BetMGM, Unibet, Betfred, and Wynn. 

Mattress Mack’s Astros World Series Bets:

• $3 million – Caesars Sportsbook 
• $1 million – WynnBet
• $2 million  – BetMGM
• $2 million – Barstool Sportsbook
• $1 million – Unibet 
• $1 million – Betfred

Caesars: The Biggest Loser

Caesars took the biggest hit from Mack’s aggressive bet – forking over $30 million in winnings to Mack. 

COO of Caesars Digital Ken Fuchs took to Twitter to announce the news. “What can we say? We just wrote the biggest check in sports betting history to Mattress Mack for $30,000,000. Would we do it all again? You bet,” the tweet wrote.

“While Mack may have won this round on the field, we’re proud of how we teamed up to support first responders and military veterans in Houston, Philly, and Atlantic City. And to Mack – we tip our Astros cap – and remind him that he can now support his Texans and Rockets…both attractively prices at +100000 to win a championship. The Astros are currently +550 to win next year’s Fall Classic.”

WynnBet took the second-biggest hit, paying Mack $12 million. Followed by Barstool ($10.6 million), BetMGM ($10 million), Unibet ($6.3 million), and Betfred ($5 million). 

Small Sportsbooks Swallow Sums

Other sportsbooks such as Unibet and Betfred also responded to the Astros win.

“You had the guts … to put your money on the line. You put $1 million dollars on the Astros with me at five-to-one. They won. You deserve your money, and I’m paying you,” said Fred Done, owner of Betfred, in a video. The $1 million bet from Mack accounted for roughly 16% of the sportsbook’s total handle through the first nine months of the year. The $5 million payout to Mack is the largest ever in Betfred’s 50-plus-year history as a bookmaker. 

Unibet was subject to a $6.3 million payout to Mack on his $1.05 million bet with the sportsbook. It’s Mack’s second-largest bet with Unibet, after his unsuccessful $1.5 million bet on the Astros to win the World Series. 

“We are happy to congratulate Jim McIngvale on his successful bet on the Houston Astros. As one of the largest online betting operators globally we occasionally take on these bigger bets, and seen as a part of our overall sportsbook business it is a small exposure”, said Henrik Tjärnström, CEO Kindred Group.

Mack’s $1 million bet with Unibet accounted for close to 35% of its 2022 handle through September.

The Mack Effect

Mack’s wagers are so large that they can have implications on the sportsbooks if they are to be paid out. Prior to the Astros win, Caesars CEO Tom Reeg addressed Mack’s bet at a Nov. 1 earnings call – “I think most of you are aware, we’ve got a fairly high-profile liability out there with the Astros. So that will be a swing factor in whether the fourth quarter is positive as a whole.”

Penn Entertainment, owner of Barstool and another host of a monstrous Mack bet is in the same boat. In a Nov. 3 earnings call, Penn CEO Jay Snowden addressed his investors –  “I think if Mattress Mack doesn’t hit, we’ll be profitable in Q4,” Snowden said “If he does, then it’ll probably be closer to break-evenish.” Barstool Sportsbook paid Mack $10.6 million on a $2 million bet. 

While there’s no doubt that Mack is a richer man today than he was last week, he also has a lot of free furniture to give out, which is the driving force behind these large bets. He said the winnings will “mostly be paid to customers through our promotion.”