“Mattress Mack” wasn’t about to take a big financial hit lying down.
Houston furniture mogul Jim McIngvale placed his second huge bet on the Bengals to win the Super Bowl, laying $5 million on Friday on top of the $4.5 million he placed on Cincinnati a week earlier.
Both bets were placed at +170 odds on the money line (no point spread), meaning McIngvale would earn more than $16 million, in addition to getting back the $9.5 million he risked, if Cincinnati wins.
The latest bet wasn’t so much a hunch on the sporting merits of the Super Bowl teams as it was a shrewd business decision.
After putting his first big wager on the Bengals, McIngvale announced a promotion at his furniture stores that would give customers a $3,000 rebate on new purchases if Cincinnati beats the Los Angeles Rams in the Super Bowl.
However, so many consumers flocked to his stores thanks to the promotion, McIngvale had to increase his bet on the Bengals.
McIngvale told ESPN on Friday, “Well, I sold through the profit on the first investment, so I had to make another.”
As he did the previous time, McIngvale drove over the Texas border into Louisiana, where mobile gambling is legal, and he placed the wager through the Caesars Sportbook app.
Caesars told ESPN that the $5 million bet was the largest it has ever booked on a Super Bowl, topping a $4.9 million wager on the St. Louis Rams to beat the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXVI. That bet in February 2002, placed at -900 odds on the money line, lost when the Patriots won 20-17 for Tom Brady’s first championship.
McIngvale celebrated his 71st birthday on Friday.
–Field Level Media