Jim McIngvale is happy that his Houston Astros came out on top in Game 7 of the World Series Wednesday evening. Though, it was definitely a costly win for the furniture store owner.
McIngvale, who runs the Houston-based Mattress Mack, ran a promotion earlier this year that enabled customers who spent $3,000-plus at his store to get full refunds if the Astros ended up claiming the World Series title. They did, and he’s now paying the proverbial piper.
The good news for McIngvale outside of his Astros coming out on top is that he did take out insurance on the promotion. According to ESPN’s Darren Rovell, this enabled him to be covered for all but 10-20 percent of the cash he had to pay out to customers. McIngvale also bet up to $1 million on the Astros in Las Vegas to help recoup the losses.
Houston earned its first ever World Series title by virtue of a 5-1 win on Wednesday against Los Angeles at Dodger Stadium. It was a ho-hum ending to an otherwise dramatic series. But for McIngvale, losing out on some cold-hard cash seemed to be worth it.
“I’m happy for this great city and for the Astros,” McIngvale said, via ESPN.
As he should be. This has been a trying year for the city of Houston. To be able to celebrate a World Series title has to feel pretty darn good.