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ESPN Daily

Why The Biggest World Series Bet Ever Is a Sure Thing

ESPN Daily

ESPN

Sports

4.63.9K Ratings

🗓️ 20 October 2022

⏱️ 39 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In Houston, everyone knows the name “Mattress Mack.” He’s a furniture store owner whose charitable efforts during Hurricane Harvey and in other times need have made him famous among Houstonians. But “Mattress Mack,” whose real name is Jim McIngvale, has become famous nationally for another reason: he consistently places some of the largest sports bets in history. But make no mistake, Mack is not your ordinary high roller…it’s all part of a strategy designed to sell furniture, while at the same time giving the local community something to cheer for. And now, if his beloved hometown Houston Astros manage to win the World Series, Mack stands to win more than 70 million dollars, the largest sports bet payout in history. And if the Astros lose? Well, as Dave Fleming explains there’s more to the bet and Mattress Mack than meets the eye - and even if the Astros lose, McIngvale still wins. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

Dave Lemming, we sent you down to Houston recently on a very special reporting trip that

0:06.7

brought you to an Astros game.

0:09.3

Just give me an idea of what you saw there.

0:11.5

As someone who spent the last 30 year shadowing athletes and tagging along behind the scenes,

0:16.7

I actually witnessed something inside MinuteMade Park that I've never seen before.

0:23.7

The plan was to meet with this subject on the mezzanine level behind home plate of MinuteMade

0:29.3

Park in Houston before the Astros were supposed to take the field.

0:35.4

And the subject you're meeting, what does he look like?

0:38.1

He's this little gray-haired furniture magnet, black-worn-in cowboy boots with his Astros

0:46.6

jersey tucked into his pants.

0:49.8

That look is a dangerous one.

0:52.5

I feel like only a select few, only an elite cadre of humans can pull that off.

0:58.4

I would actually argue that it's only this guy who I don't even pull it off.

1:06.0

He has a sort of like physical presence that I would describe as Lanky.

1:10.5

And he's somebody who feels like he's like he's all teeth, he's all ears, and he's

1:16.2

all charisma too.

1:19.3

I figured this was going to be like any other assignment right.

1:22.0

We would meet up in Chichad as we walk to our seats.

1:25.4

And instead, when I got inside the stadium, the subject is literally swarmed like he was

1:33.4

a pop star.

1:35.4

And I couldn't get anywhere close to him because everybody else in the stadium wanted to be

1:42.1

next to take a picture with, ask questions, shake his hand, everybody wanted a piece of

...

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