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By Max Meyer

HOUSTON — Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale is no stranger to gambling in life. He’s bet big on his sports teams and he’s also bet big on himself. He’s won and he’s lost, and this is clearly someone who is unafraid to take a major swing.

When Mack first moved to Houston in 1981 with his wife Linda, he had about $5,000 to his name and was still able to etch himself in the city’s lore. 

Forty years later, he sits in his suite at Minute Maid Stadium for Game 6 of the World Series, two wins shy of cashing his historic $2 million futures bet at Caesars Sportsbook. Mack’s wager did not pay off for him this time, as the Astros’ championship dreams were dashed tonight at the hands of the Braves. 

“I have a high tolerance for risk,” Mack said. “You only go around once, so I’m gonna take a swing at it. But if it doesn’t go your way, you fall seven [times] and rise back up eight [times]. That’s the story of life, ain’t it? My life is all about resilience, nobody said this life is going to be kind, easy or fair. You just got to pick yourself up and go again.”

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The morning of Game 6, Mack is in his usual spot—behind the counter at his store Gallery Furniture. Nestled right off the freeway, the exterior has the resemblance of a country castle. Once you step inside, Mack is ready to greet you with a welcoming smile. He’s donned in a bright orange Astros outfit, including the same hat he wore in Game 5 that he’s using as his current good luck charm.

A young boy named Dylan walks up the counter with his parents waving him on in the background, as he shyly whispers “Go Astros!” to Mack. Mack grins and confidently repeats the same phrase back. 

Dylan holds up his Astros hat and asks for an autograph. Mack whips out his sharpie, with Dylan gleaming in excitement while the message is being scribbled out. But the boy got a lot more than he bargained for after Mack was finished signing.

“Say Dylan, come here. Do you want two tickets to the Astros game tonight?”

“Uh huh.”

His parents exclaim “oh my god” to one another, while Dylan spins and bounces around in celebration. 

Along with an endless sea of furniture, the store is decorated with Texas sports memorabilia throughout. One wall has a mural made up of baseball cards, with several famous Astros showcased in the center of it all. An Astros section with Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman jerseys preserved in glass makes up another section of the store. Whether it’s regarding the state of Texas itself or Texas sports teams, Mack lets out his state pride everywhere you turn.  

For someone who breathes Houston throughout every pore of his body, Mack actually was born in Starkville, Mississippi. His family moved to Texas when he was about 5 years old, and he went to high school in Dallas. 

“When I was a kid way back when, we used to pitch pennies and pitch quarters and pitch half-dollars against the wall to see who’d win,” Mack said. “I played poker a lot with my friends in high school. We all liked to gamble then, so that tradition has continued for me since.”

He stayed in the Lone Star State to play college football, divvying up his time between the University of Texas and the University of North Texas. He wore the No. 72 jersey on Texas’ 1970 team that won the national championship, showcased with a team photo he proudly displays at Gallery Furniture. The Longhorns were also responsible for a signature sports betting moment of his, starting a pattern of backing the teams that are closest to his heart. 

“My first big betting win was in 2005, when Texas played USC in the Rose Bowl,” Mack said. “Texas was a 7-point underdog, and I took the moneyline on that and won $300,000. I went to University of Texas and played football at University of Texas. I only had two problems, number one I was too small and number two I was too slow. So the position I played was called the bench when I was on the team. But when Vince [Young] scored that touchdown, that was really great and it was the most memorable bet I’ve placed on a single game.”

After graduating, Mack was fired from his first job working at a convenience store. His start in furniture simply was due to him needing to find work. 

“A friend of mine referred me to this guy who had a furniture store nearby,” Mack said. “I liked it, I was good at selling. I did that for about two years, then decided to open my own store. Rather than compete with my boss in Dallas who’d been good to me and taught me the business as a mentor, I moved down to Houston and started this place.”

He didn’t have much money at the time, but still went for it. After a period of struggling sales, he pushed all his chips in the middle again—this time putting down his remaining money, around $10,000, to buy television advertisements as a last-ditch effort to save the store. It worked, and he gained his catchy “Save You Money” slogan to boot.

Now Mack is a Houston mainstay, and has worked hard to give back to the community that has lovingly embraced him. Most notably, he turned Gallery Furniture into a safe haven during weather crises to provide food and shelter.

Mack also has given Houston residents another reason to root hard for the hometown teams. After placing a $2 million wager on Astros 10/1 to win the World Series with Caesars Sportsbook back in June, he set up an offer at his store. 

“One of the reasons I got into sports betting is that I do all of these promotions with our customers,” Mack said. “This one in particular was you buy a mattress of $3,000-plus, and you get your money back [if the Astros win it all]. Right now we have about 4,500 customers that are pulling for the Houston Astros to win the World Series. The Astros’ slogan is for the H. To me, for the H means for Houston, for our customers and for the community, and that’s what we’re all pulling for.”

This isn’t the first time Mack has run a promotion like this from a noteworthy sports bet, however this time around there was history on the line too. The potential winnings of $20 million would have been the biggest one ever reported in U.S. sportsbook history. As a result, he’s been getting more attention and recognition than ever, even outside of the state where everyone is rooting him on. 

“I was walking Truist Park [in Atlanta] the other night, and all these young kids were coming up to me with Atlanta Braves hats on,” Mack said. “They wanted me to take pictures, and I said ‘How do you guys know me?’ And they all knew me from sports betting. It’d be fun to hopefully break new ground and set a new mark that I’m sure will one day be eclipsed by somebody else. It would be nice to hold the record for one month or a couple years of the largest futures bet winner in history.” 

Mack took center stage in Houston tonight while wearing his No. 2 Alex Bregman jersey, as he and two nuns came out to throw the honorary first pitch at Minute Maid Park. In the first inning, he entered his field-level suite to a rousing applause. He hosted about 100 people for Game 6, everyone in sync with their Astros attire.

He took his seat behind the fence out in centerfield, and immediately composed an impenetrable focus on the action taking place on the field. Mack had his elbows on the table and fingers up against his forehead, leaning in as far as he could. When something positive happened to the Astros, he would break out of his hunch and clap. Otherwise, he was completely in the zone watching his favorite team.

After the third out of an inning, he transformed essentially into the Mayor of Minute Maid. He walked around and greeted those in his suite, patting them on the back and flashing that friendly smile during those conversations. For Mack, sharing this experience with so many others is what he cherished most about his seats. 

Unfortunately for Mack and the rest of the suite, there was not much to cheer about tonight. A Jorge Soler three-run moonshot in the top of the third broke a scoreless tie, with a Dansby Swanson two-run homer two innings later that essentially served as the series dagger. 

Despite Houston’s defeat in Game 6, it doesn’t change how Mack feels about his team. 

“They bring so much joy to the city,” Mack said. “Human beings were made to live in groups. The Astros bring us together in Houston as a group united. If you go down to the stadium, you’ll see all different types of people wearing their Astros gear and the entire city comes together as one.”