Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale, the owner of the furniture store in Houston, known for making giant sports bets, has so far placed the biggest bet on Super Bowl LV – $ 3.46 million on the underdog Tampa Bay Buccaneers at +3.5.
McIngvale flew into Colorado Springs on Wednesday, reporting from the airport to the DraftKings mobile betting app and placing one of the biggest bets ever on the Super Bowl. After paying a little extra juice (-127) to get the Bucs at +3.5, McIngvale would win $ 2.72 million if Tampa Bay covered the spread.
“Tampa Bay is loaded with talent on both sides of the ball and is led by the greatest footballer of all time in Tom Brady, so I bet big on the Bucs who won tough games during this post-season,” McIngvale said of release of DraftKings.
McIngvale regularly uses the betting market to reduce the risk of sales promotions in its store, Gallery Furniture. He played more than $ 11 million on the 2019 World Series between the Houston Astros and Washington Nationals, including a $ 3.5 million futures contract on the Astros he placed with DraftKings in Biloxi, Mississippi.
The Astros lost in seven games against the Nationals.
“Mack was an excellent customer and is someone we have a history with after taking his bet on the World Series a few seasons ago,” Johnny Avello, director of DraftKings’ sportsbook, said in the release.
This year, customers at Gallery Furniture who spend $ 3,000 or more on a new mattress will get their money back if the Buccaneers beat the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.
The two biggest reported bets on the Super Bowl so far have both been on the Bucs. In addition to the $ 3.46 million bet from McIngvale, a bettor with BetMGM in Nevada last week placed a $ 2.3 million bet on Tampa Bay.
The biggest Super Bowl bet ever reported in terms of risk is thought to be a $ 4.8 million cash bet on the Rams to beat the Patriots in the 2002 Super Bowl XXXVL at MGM in Las Vegas . The Patriots were upset the Rams 20-17.
Despite the two bets on the Bucs in the Super Bowl this year, most of the action is on the favorite Chiefs. As of Wednesday in William Hill, the American sports books, 82% of the money played at the Super Bowl point was in Kansas City.