Mattress Mack Bet on TCU in the College Championship Football Game — Lost $3 Million

When it comes to sports betting, you win some and you lose some. And no one knows that better than Houston furniture millionaire Jim McIngvale, aka “Mattress Mack.” McIngvale has a history of betting millions on Texas sports teams.

In November 2022, Mattress Mack won the largest payout in sports betting history after the Houston Astros won the 2022 World Series. His $10 million in several bets on the Astros ballooned to a winning payout of $75 million.

But McIngvale wasn’t so lucky in his bet on the Texas Christian University (TCU) Horned Frogs in the College Football Championship Game on Jan. 9 against the University of Georgia Bulldogs. Mattress Mack lost a $3 million wager on TCU when the Bulldogs beat the Horned Frogs 65–7.

“That was a beatdown,” Mack told Action Network after the loss. “The only thing worse would have been to have bought a commercial during the fourth quarter.”

Some customers of McIngvale’s Gallery Furniture store chain are also mourning TCU’s loss. When McIngvale places his million-dollar bets, he typically runs a store promotion at the same time, and if he wins, so do his customers.

The furniture store’s recent promotion, “Frogs Win, You Win,” offered customers who purchased a $3,000 or higher mattress twice the amount they spent if TCU won. Mattress Mack ran a similar promotion when he bet on the Astros in the World Series, which had a much better outcome for customers.

“The promotion did well,” Mack told Action Network. “I just feel sorry for our customers.”

Mattress Mack may want to stay clear of betting against the Georgia Bulldogs in the future. The furniture mogul has reportedly lost over $9 million in betting against the Bulldogs in the last two national championship games.

Mattress Mack has amassed a net worth of $300 million from his career in the furniture business. He got his first job in a furniture store after he was fired from a convenience store job.

With just $5,000 to his name, McIngvale opened his own furniture store, Gallery Furniture, in 1981 in a Houston abandoned model home park. The timing was right because many people were moving to Houston and needed new furniture.

McIngvale got his nickname, “Mattress Mack,” after appearing in commercials for the store wearing mattresses. The commercials were part of a campaign to boost the store’s declining sales, and McIngvale reportedly used his last $10,000 to invest in them.

Gallery Furniture became known for its quirky TV commercials that featured McIngvale. He also coined the store’s slogan, “Saves You Money’” during the spots.

McIngvale and his wife, Linda, have been together since he opened his first Gallery Furniture in Houston in 1981. According to the company history on the Gallery Furniture website, Linda agreed to move with McIngvale to Houston only if he put a ring on her finger first.