Houston's 'Mattress Mack' places record-setting mobile bet on Super Bowl LVI
Mattress Mack's bet could net him around $7.7 million — if he wins
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Texas furniture salesman Jim "Mattress Mack" McIngvale has placed a record-setting bet of more than $4.5 million on a Super Bowl LVI win for the Cincinnati Bengals over the Los Angeles Rams through the Caesars Sportsbook app.
Mattress Mack's bet is the largest mobile wager in history, Ken Fuchs, head of sports at Caesars Entertainment Inc., tells FOX Business.
‘Joe Burrow magic’
"At Caesars Sportsbook, we love taking epic wagers on massive events like the Super Bowl," Fuchs said. "The Joe Burrow magic is pulling fans in, especially in Louisiana with his college roots. With this $4.5 million bet on Joe and the Bengals, Mack will make history again. And with the millions of Caesars Rewards credits he’ll earn — win or lose — he can enjoy time spent on OUR mattresses at Caesars anytime he wants to stop by."
If the Bengals win, Mattress Mack's winnings would be around $7.7 million.
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McIngvale, of Houston, told FOX Business that he placed the bet through the Caesars Sportsbook app because it's "the only one with big enough britches to take that kind of bet at a single time."
To make the bet legally, McIngvale drove from Texas to Louisiana, which officially launched legal mobile sports betting on Jan. 28.
"They were very accommodating and made it easy for me," he explained. "The rest of them wanted you to bet smaller amounts and every time you bet, they lower the odds. So Caesars is a grown person's gambling place."
Houston business owner Jim "Mattress Mack" McIngvale is seen at his store Gallery Furniture in Houston. (Getty Images / Getty Images)
Mattress Mack was able to place a larger bet this year, thanks to the strong business his store, Gallery Furniture, has seen during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Business has been very good because people, when they're locked up at home, they look around at their furniture and decide to refurnish," he said. "We buy mostly made in America furniture, so the supply chain snafu has not affected us nearly as much as other furniture retailers."
Gallery Furniture, which is located in Houston, is running a promotion for customers who spend $3,000 or more on a Tempur-Pedic, Stearns & Foster or Sealy mattress or on reclining sectionals, sofas or loveseats. If the Bengals win, Mattress Mack will use his winnings to reimburse the full amount of customers' purchases.
"It gives customers an opportunity to buy great furniture," McIngvale added. "The worst they can do is keep what they bought, and they're buying at a very good price. We haven't raised prices at all."
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Record expected
Caesars Sportsbook, DraftKings and Penn National Gaming all declined to disclose revenue estimates for the expected haul from this year's game. However, Caesars said it expects this year's Super Bowl betting to smash last year's records, with an additional 36 million American adults eligible to place legal bets in their home states.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CZR | CAESARS ENTERTAINMENT INC. | 38.49 | +0.24 | +0.63% |
| DKNG | DRAFTKINGS INC. | 43.65 | +0.62 | +1.44% |
| PENN | PENN ENTERTAINMENT INC. | 21.59 | +0.51 | +2.42% |
According to polling by Morning Consult, the share of U.S. adults who plan to bet on Sunday’s Super Bowl is 41% higher than it was ahead of last year’s game. Nearly 1 in 4 U.S. adults ages 21 and older, or 24% of respondents surveyed, said they are likely to place a monetary wager on Super Bowl LVI, up from 17% last year.
Among those who said they are likely to watch the game, 35% said they plan to bet, compared to 23% in 2021. The share of surveyed U.S. adults ages 21 and older who plan to bet via an online service climbed from 13% in 2021 to 18% in 2022.
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VIXIO GamblingCompliance, a legal and regulatory intelligence firm focused on the gambling market, estimates that the U.S. sports betting market could generate between $6.7 billion to $8 billion in gross revenue in 2022, depending on key factors including whether online sports betting can continue in Florida amid legal challenges.
The firm notes that the sports betting market could be worth $12.1 billion to $17.7 billion in total annual gross revenue by 2025, depending on legislative trends. Total revenue for all U.S. online gambling, include online sports betting and iGaming in select states, is expected to reach between $17.3 billion to $22.6 billion by 2025.
Meanwhile, DraftKings said in an investor day presentation in March 2021 that the online sports betting industry could generate $22 billion in the U.S. at 100% legalization.