Mattress Mack’s latest big bet is on sports journalism

The chirpy businessman from Texas with a proclivity for placing seven-figure sports wagers, Jim "Mattress Mack" McIngvale, is launching a new sports journalism venture and why wouldn’t he? The Houston-based sports bettingstardom made a name for himself by offering special deals on his main stock of trade – mattresses – sold through the Gallery Furniture retail chain he owns.

The man would make a bet on a team in the NFL, MLB, or NBA, among other sports, and offer to repay customers if they purchased at least two mattresses totaling a pre-determined amount of money, and should McIngvale’s wager won. It’s been a good marketing strategy that has taken off, and now, the famed sports bettor is back with his latest business venture.

The gallerysports.com news site will focus on Texas and Louisiana sports developments. He has already found a number of prominent journalists to join him, including former Houston Chronicle reporters John P. Lopez, Richard Justice, and John McClain. Another website will be launching before long, named Gallery Gaming, which will offer more insight into sports betting developments.

Both ventures will seek to bring more people to McIngvale’s retail chain, an ambitious and slightly unorthodox idea when you think about it, given that sports betting is booming in the United States and companies such as Catena and Better Collective are signing partnerships with a number of newspapers, among which the Chicago Tribune, NJ.com, and even the New York Times.

Speaking to the Houston Chronicle’s Matt Young, McIngvale said that he was excited about the idea of getting good sports content while also driving more traffic towards Gallery Furniture stores. "We thought sports was a perfect way to connect with our customers and with all the sports fans in Houston," the businessman said in his matter-of-factly voice.

McIngvale has had an interesting philosophy about doing business, with the man admitting that revenue was not always an issue for him. Rather, he wanted to build a chain that is important to the customer. "Would people miss us if we went out of business tomorrow," McInvgale told reporters, trying to demonstrate what he meant.

He has both lost and won big wagers. Most recently, he wagered $4.5m on the Cincinnati Bengals to win Super Bowl LVI, but the team lost to the Los Angeles Rams in a hotly contested game. McIngvale though remains happy as the marketing he gets usually makes up for the loss he generates on a bet. He is also running a $6m wager on the Astros to win the 2022 World Series from October 28 through November 5.

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