Meet Mattress Mack legendary gambler, 72, who won $80million on huge MLB bet

Mattress Mack has become synonymous with gambling due to his major bets and even more major wins including an $80million jackpot he pocketed thanks to his hometown team

Fasika Zelealem Senior Sports Reporter

21:21, 16 Sep 2023

[Mattress Mack is a legendary figure in gambling, having won a record $80million (65million) thanks to the Houston Astros victory in the 2022 World Series]

Mattress Mack is a legendary figure in gambling, having won a record $80million (65million) thanks to the Houston Astros victory in the 2022 World Series

Mattress Mack is a name that's mentioned when you're either speaking about gambling or mattresses.

The 72-year-old, whose real name is Jim McIngvale, made his name in the furniture business but made the big bucks thanks to his gambling antics.

Having founded the Gallery Furniture retail chain with his wife, Linda, in his hometown of Houston, Texas in the 1980s, the incredible success of the business has been the springboard of Mack's ability to lay down seismic bets into the millions.

With Gallery Furniture now thought to be worth $300million (258million) it now makes sense to the public just how Mack has been able to consistently be a big player in betting and it certainly came full circle for him in the 2022 World Series.

The 72-year-old placed bets worth a whopping $10.5m (8.5m) on the Houston Astros to defeat the Philadelphia Phillies with a potential payout of a record $80m (65m).

What will be Mattress Mack's next biggest bet? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below

[He bet a record $10m on the Houston Astros to win the 2022 World Series ]

Mack has long maintained a legendary status in the world of sports gambling(Image: Wayne Parry/AP/REX/Shutterstock)

In a double dose of joy for Mack, not only did the Astros clinch the World Series in game six of seven, he was in line for a world record jackpot.

The historic victory only added to his legendary status in Houston following the philanthropic work he and his wife do in the community.

[Mack had the last laugh in the end after winning $80million thanks to the Astros ]

He showed evidence of his whopping bet (Image: Wayne Parry/AP/REX/Shutterstock)

Having been raised by a father who valued generosity and lived as a devout catholic, giving has always been part of Mack and he's shown that on countless occasions.

He once invited people to write to him about people that they may believe are in need of free furniture and has gone on to gift thousands of items throughout the years.

While Mack's Gallery Furniture give their employees free meals, they go one step further by offering free pre-school, high school as well a trade school for adults to do in their spare time outside of their work in the business.

[He's known for his philanthropic work in the community ]

The 72-year-old is long-time Houston Astros fan(Image: Getty Images)

Mack famously earned plaudits nationally after opening his store to those affected by the brutal Hurricane Harvey in 2017 and gave out free furniture to those who had theirs destroyed.

While his business still takes up a huge chunk of his time, as he continues to work 10 hours a day, seven days a week at Gallery Furniture, he's never too far away from splashing out a few million on a bet.

[The victory banked Mack a record payout of $80million]

The Astros won their second World Series in 2022(Image: David J Phillip/AP/REX/Shutterstock)

The year 2014 was not a very fruitful one for him as he lost $8m (6.4m) after failing to hedge his bets on the Denver Broncos as they defeated by the Seattle Seahawks in the Super Bowl.

Betting on football has been a source of pain for Mack as earlier this year, he placed $3m (2.4m) on the TCU Horned Frogs to pull off an almighty upset and defeat the Georgia Bulldogs.

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He was forced to say goodbye to that huge chunk of cash as Georgia demolished their opponents 65-7 in the biggest blowout in college football history.

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