‘Mattress Mack’ drives from Houston to Louisiana to place huge Super Bowl bet

(KPLC) - Houston furniture mogul, Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale, has placed a $4.53 million bet on the Super Bowl. McIngvale placed similar championships bets on his hometown Houston Astros during their three recent World Series appearances.

However, the process for McIngvale to place the bet has changed.

McIngvale drove from Houston to Louisiana, where mobile sports betting recently became legal. Once he crossed the state line, McIngvale pulled into a gas station and placed the multi-million dollar bet on his phone, according to a Houston news station.

That two-hour drive was closer than the flights he used to make to Colorado to place bets, McIngvale told the news station.

McIngvale placed the $4.53 million bet on Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals to beat the Los Angeles Rams. If the Bengals win, McIngvale will take home an estimated $7.7 million.

McIngvale’s bet is tied to a promotion at his furniture store, Gallery Furniture, where purchases of mattresses and living room furniture of $3,000 or more will be free if Cincinnati wins.

Gallery Furniture ran a similar promotion last year based on McIngvale’s $3.4 million bet on Tampa Bay to win the Super Bowl.

And in 2017, McIngvale refunded millions on furniture purchases after betting big on the Astros to win the World Series.

But McIngvale doesn’t always win his bets. McIngvale made million-dollar bets on the Astros when they went to the World Series in 2019 and 2021 - only to see them lose both times. He also bet $2.7 million on Alabama in the college football national championship game, which Georgia won.