Houston mattress salesman bets $3.5 million on Astros to win World Series

Jim McIngvale placed a $3.5 million bet Tuesday on the Houston Astros to win the World Series at the DraftKings sportsbook at Scarlet Pearl casino in Biloxi, Miss, according to ESPN.

Scarlet Pearl CEO LuAnn Pappas told the Chronicle that McIngvale's wager was the largest placed in MS since the state began taking sports bets a year ago.

"I'm just amazed how much DraftKings and Scarlet Pearl took, and they didn't blink an eye", McIngvale said.

In addition, McIngvale also placed a $200,000 bet at the South Point in Las Vegas and also has wagers for unspecified amounts with Caesars, MGM, Treasure Island and Circa Sports.

The Houston Astros won the World Series in 2017, and Gallery Furniture is in the midst of a promotion which would refund certain customers their purchases of at least $3,000 if the Astros win the World Series again.

The Houston Astros are the favorites to win the 2019 World Series.

If approved, the bet would be one of the biggest in American sports betting history - but that's not the craziest part. In early September, bookmaker FanDuel, after discussions with McIngvale, requested approval from New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement to accept a bet of greater than $5 million on the Astros.

He took the same approach in 2017 when he bet more than $1 million across Las Vegas ahead of the World Series to offset losses from his promotion, Purdum adds. This year, with more states offering sports betting, he has expanded options, like MS and New Jersey. Icahn won a net $300,000 when the 49ers blew out the Chargers. Anthony Curtis, a Las Vegas gambler who helped McIngvale find the best price, told Purdum that Mattress Mack wants to get down upward of $10 million on the Astros.

The Astros were down to +210 in DraftKings' odds to win the World Series, after taking McIngvale's bet. The Yankees are +425.

McIngvale is well-liked in Houston and is known for his philanthropic ways.

He declined to characterize how big of liability he has on this year's promotion. DraftKings Cofounder Matt Kalish said, "Our first thought was that we want to be involved because this is what we do and you know when I heard the background story as well that there's this giant furniture promotion and thousands and thousands of people can win free furniture if the Astros win".

Houston begins play Friday against either Tampa Bay or Oakland in the ALDS. Mack has placed smaller bets in a few other casinos on the Astros this season, but this is by far the biggest.