By Mason Quigley 

James McIngvale is the 73-year-old owner of Gallery Furniture in Houston, Texas. He may seem like a mild-mannered, elderly furniture store owner; however, McIngvale has a hobby that separates him from other business owners, as he has gathered a large following and popularity, especially in the sports world. McIngvale has grown to become the most famed sports bettor of all time, with accolades such as the most significant sports betting victory ever. Through his sports betting career, he has turned his store into an empire while gaining national fame. 

McIngvale was born in Starkville, Mississippi, in 1951 and has been infatuated with sports since birth. His father, George, was a star football player at Mississippi State University and passed his love of the sport to his son. McIngvale would go on to play football at the University of Texas and the University of North Texas in the late 1960s and early 70s before dropping out of college. 

McIngvale in front of Gallery Furniture in the 1970s. Photo credit: @mattressmackofficial via instagram.

Following college, McIngvale moved to Houston in the late 1970s, where he began working at a local mattress store with only five thousand dollars to his name. It was at this furniture store where McIngvale gained an enthusiasm for furniture and customer service. A few years later in 1981, he opened his own mattress store, Gallery Furniture. McIngvale quickly made a name for himself, earning the title “Mattress Mack.” Using his last ten thousand dollars, McIngvale aired a series of commercials in the 1980s to promote his department store, in which he dressed in a flimsy mattress costume. These commercials became a gateway to fame for McIngvale, as Gallery Furniture became increasingly popular. 

Today, McIngvale runs three furniture stores in the Houston area, including a 165,000-square-foot compound that houses a 30,000-gallon aquarium, bird zoo, and other attractions. Through his commitment to creating a positive customer experience in his stores, McIngvale increased his annual revenues from 30 million dollars in 1991 to an estimated 200 million dollars in 2023. Despite his wealth and fame, McIngvale brings unparalleled enthusiasm to work seven days a week, where he can be found at a desk at the front of Gallery Furniture. From this desk, he continues to greet customers with a smile while announcing flash sales and specials. McIngvale loves his job and encourages others to find their passion. He has stated, “Find your passion. Put your footprints into the sands of your passion.”

Although McIngvale has made plenty of money from his furniture stores, that alone does not explain his fame or his synonymous connection to the sports gambling world. He is known for placing outrageously large bets on all types of sporting events to offset large promotions that McIngvale runs throughout his stores. McIngvale runs promotions that guarantee refunds on any mattress he sells during a flash sale if his wager is successful. If his bet doesn’t hit, he has already sold enough mattresses to counteract his lost wager and even secure a profit. 

In 2022, McIngvale placed a ten-million-dollar bet on the Houston Astros to win the World Series. Following the Astros’ triumph over the baseball world, the Houston native cashed out at a record-setting 75 million dollar payout. Following McIngvale’s grand payout, all of his customers who purchased mattresses for three thousand dollars or more during the sale got their mattresses for free. 

McIngvale with Chuck Norris. Photo credit: @mattressmackofficial via instagram.

While he is quick to jump at any opportunity to bet on any team that hails from his hometown, McIngvale bets on all four professional sports championships, the Kentucky Derby, the College Football National Championship, and the College Basketball National Championship nearly every year, guaranteeing great publicity and sales from his sales. He has tallied off many impressive wins, such as twelve million dollars when Kansas won the basketball National Championship in 2022 and his famed 75 million dollar payout when the Astros won the World Series in 2022. McIngvale’s choices aren’t always winners, and he has lost bets, such as 13 million dollars in wagers on the Astros to win the 2019 World Series, and nine million dollars in money-line bets on the Bengals to beat the Rams in 2022. 

McIngvale has found a loophole in sports betting: owning a store in which you bring in hundreds of millions of dollars annually. He has creatively found ways to source new customers while keeping his old ones coming back. While creating his furniture empire, McIngvale has innovatively combined his passion for sports and furniture, cementing a legacy in both fields. His furniture business allows McIngvale always to be remembered as one of the best gamblers ever.