Mattress Mack’s Bet on NCAA Football Championship Game Misses Mark

Big-time spoiler alert. If you haven’t seen the outcome of the College Football National Championship game and don’t want to know yet, stop reading. The Georgia Bulldogs faced the Alabama Crimson Tide for the title yesterday. Number-one Alabama was not expected to win by oddsmakers. Mattress Mack took those odds, sinking millions of dollars into the Crimson Tide as the underdog. The rest is 2022 college football history.

Mattress Mack Backs the Tide

One of the most prominent names in sports betting placed large bets on Monday night’s game, hoping Bama would win the College Football Playoff Championship.

Legally known as Jim McIngvale, he initially placed a $1.2-million wager on the University of Alabama winning the national championship over the University of Georgia. The moneyline odds were +125 and the bet paid out $1.5million for an Alabama win.

Mattress Mack increased his wager for Alabama winning the championship by placing another $1.5 million on the moneyline, with odds of +115. Caesars Sportsbook was his target for those bets, but he also sent some to Wynn Resorts. In total, he put up over $6 million, according to the sportsbooks.

Caesars Sportsbook Head of Sports Ken Fuchs stated, “With the National Championship on the line, we at Caesars Sportsbook are always excited to take the biggest bets on the biggest events.” The books’ excitement is increased when the big-money wagers go on underdogs who aren’t expected to win.

Double Your Money, or Not

If Mattress Mack’s bets won, he would collect $3.23 million on top of his initial wagers. He makes large bets to protect himself from a mattress promotion he offers at his Gallery Furniture stores. If Alabama were to win Monday night’s game, the promotion would offer customers a refund on mattresses purchased $3,000 or more.

Bama didn’t and the customers don’t get a refund. Sportsbooks must have known something ahead of the game. Despite being ranked higher and having won more titles, the Crimson Tide lost by a massive 33-18.

It isn’t clear how many mattresses or other furniture McIngvale sold. However, business is apparently booming. Being able to wager millions on sports events isn’t something the majority of sports bettors can do.

Mack also placed large bets worth more than $13 million in 2019 on the Houston Astros winning the World Series. He also made a wager of $3 million in 2021. The Astros lost both World Series.

The Astros’ 2021 win would have brought in $22 million from a $2-million bet. It would have been the biggest single US betting payout on record.