Texas furniture icon Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale has placed $4.05 million in wagers on the University of Houston men’s basketball team to win the NCAA tournament.
McIngvale, who lives and does business in Houston, is backing a Cougars program that earned the No. 1 seed in the Midwest region of this year’s Big Dance and will face Northern Kentucky on Thursday evening. During the regular season, the retail magnate placed a $1.05 million bet on Houston to win the national championship (+850) at FanDuel Sportsbook, an additional $1 million (+900) at DraftKings and $1 million (+800) with Caesars Sports. More recently, with the NCAA tournament approaching, he bet $500,000 on the Cougars with BetMGM (+1000) and another $500,000 at Barstool Sportsbook (+900).
The potential payout for McIngvale’s wagers is a whopping $39.475 million. In addition, customers who spend more than $5,000 on items in his furniture stores will have the opportunity to get their money back if Houston wins the national championship.
