UPDATE: If you’re thinking Mattress Mack knows something about the Super Bowl with his pick, well, he does. He knows how to hedge his bets (tip of the cap to Jeff Fogle for noting this). The furniture magnate is currently offering a promotion where if you spend at least $3,000 on a mattress at a Gallery Furniture store and the Buccaneers win the Super Bowl, you’ll get a refund.
If the Bucs win, Mack is giving away a lot of free mattresses, but he would also cover his Bucs +3.5 wager. If the Bucs lose by less than 3.5, he wins his bet and he doesn’t pay out the $3,000 mattress promotion. The only way he walks away a significant financial loser is if the Chiefs win by at least four points. There’s a good possibility that happens, but in that case, the millionaire many times over is simply out $3.46 million.
The Super Bowl is a little over 72 hours away, and the big bets are starting to roll in. The Super Bowl is the biggest single betting event in the United States, so it’s no surprise when seven figure wagers start to roll in.
On Wednesday evening, DraftKings Sportsbook took a monster of a bet. Jim McIngvale, better known by the moniker Mattress Mack, has placed $3.46 million on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to cover as 3.5-point underdogs against the Kansas City Chiefs. Mack flew to Colorado and placed the bet on the DraftKings Sportsbook app from the Colorado Springs airport.
If you haven’t heard of Mattress Mack, he’s a Houston-based owner of the Gallery Furniture retail chain. In recent years, he has used the Astros success to put together huge promotions at his stores. To offset potential losses with the furniture promotions, he has made massive wagers on the Astros in the playoffs.
Why is Mattress Mack betting on the Bucs this year? He offered some thoughts on their talent and the challenge facing the Chiefs this year.
“Tampa Bay is loaded with talent on both sides of the ball and led by the greatest football player of all time in Tom Brady, so I’m betting big on the Bucs who have overcome tough matchups throughout this postseason. The NFL has only seen eight instances of back-to-back champions and none in the past 16 years, so I like my chances going into Super Bowl LV for this trend to continue. DraftKings has been amazing; providing a safe, legal and fantastic customer experience.”
DraftKings Sportsbook currently has had the Bucs as a three-point underdog most of the past week, but they also offer alternate lines for a price. If you want to bet the Bucs at +3, the price is -106. That means you have to bet $106 to win $100. However, if you want to bet the Bucs at +3.5, the price is -127. That means you have to bet $127 to win $100. At -127, Mack’s $3.46 million bet would pay winnings of $2,724,409.45, meaning a total payout of $6,184,409.45.
The line has seen little movement, but getting the Bucs at +3.5 feels like a solid choice, even at the larger price. The Super Bowl point spread opened at 3.5, with the Bucs priced at -115. However, the line quickly dropped to a field goal. If you got in at 3.5 two Sundays ago, you got some value. If you want in on 3.5 now, it’s going to cost you.
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