A bad streak

Any hopes Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale had of starting 2022 with a bang went bust last week after another multimillion-dollar fail made it $11.4m in losing bets in just ten weeks.

The Action Network took to Twitter Sunday to share details of the famed bettor’s latest losing streak, complete with a grim-faced image of the man:

McIngvale’s latest losing stretch started Monday night, when the Georgia Bulldogs beat the Alabama Crimson Tide to win the NCAA title, leaving him $6.1m out of pocket. The furniture magnate then lost $2m on Saturday night when the franchise he backed to win the Super Bowl, the New England Patriots, got crushed by the Buffalo Bills in an NFL Wild Card clash.

the Houston businessman lost a combined $8.1m in less than seven days

With the Pats loss over the weekend and the NCAA bet going south a few days earlier, the Houston businessman lost a combined $8.1m in less than seven days. The wager that pushed his ten-week losses over the eye-watering $10m mark was the $3.3m he lost in November when the MLB’s Atlanta Braves beat the Houston Astros to claim the 2021 World Series.

What could have been

While sportsbooks will happily pocket McIngvale’s $11.4m, the famed bettor will at least get to keep the money from his furniture promotions. McIngvale typically places monster wagers to offset, at least partially, the costs of promotions he offers at his Gallery Furniture stores in Houston. Usually, customers who spend $3,000+ on a mattress will earn their money back if McIngvale’s bets win.

Sports business reporter and senior executive producer of The Action Network, Darren Rovell, took to Twitter after the Houston native’s losing Astros wager in November, pointing out the method behind McIngvale’s perceived betting madness:

If McIngvale’s bets had won, some sportsbooks could have taken a steep hit. A winning Tide bet would have earned McIngvale $3.2m on top of initial wagers he made via Caesars Sportsbook and WynnBet. Meanwhile, his Astros wager would have bagged $35.6m, $20m of which would have come out of Caesars’ pocket. It would have represented the largest single win in the history of US betting.

Had his wager on the Pats to lift the Lombardi Trophy in 2022 also prospered, Penn National Gaming-owned sportsbooks Barstool Sports and theScore Bet would have lost $46m, making McIngvale $84.8m richer come February.

Plenty of opportunity left

Although McIngvale has lost out in 2022 so far, there are plenty of opportunities for NFL betting over the coming weeks as the Super Bowl approaches.

With one Wild Card tie left to play and some fascinating Divisional Round games, picks include the seemingly unstoppable Bills taking on the currently slow starting but irrepressible Kansas City Chiefs. Then there’s the crest of a wave-riding Cincinnatti Bengals versus the juggernaut Tennessee Titans. According to Tipico, the Titans are 3.5-point favorites, with the Bengals’ money line currently +135.