Mississippi sports betting handle jumped 46.2% in October, largely thanks to one man: Mattress Mack.
Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale estimates he lost about $13 million on his World Series bets. Those wagers helped Mississippi take in $48 million last month.
McIngvale used the bets made in Mississippi and New Jersey as a hedge against a promotion to return cash to some people that bought mattresses from him.
McIngvale lost more than $13 million in refunds when he ran a similar promotion in 2017 when the Houston Astros won.
MS sportsbooks knife the Mack
While there’s no specific breakdown of where McIngvale placed the bets, the majority appeared to be in Mississippi. Mattress Mack bet $6.2 million at DraftKings Sportsbook at Scarlet Pearl casino alone.
One of those Scarlet Pearl bets for $3.5 million ranks as the largest bet ever taken by a US sportsbook.
Luckily for those books that took his action, Mattress Mack and the Astros lost. That helped revenue soared more than tenfold to $12.3 million, according to the state report.
One man’s effect on Mississippi sports betting
Mattress Mack flew to Biloxi and the coastal casinos to make his bets. It’s easy to see his impact at those casinos in the Mississippi sports betting report.
Coastal casinos took $33.4 million in bets during October, up 53.4% compared to last year. Handle on baseball jumped more than seven times to $10.1 million at those casinos.
The Houston loss helped the coastal casinos’ revenue increase nearly 4,600% to $10 million.
McIngvale also helped put the month of October in the record books for Mississippi. Handle and revenue both had record months, topping the handle record set last November and the sports betting revenue record from last December.
Not just Mattress Mack
Mississippi sports betting handle growth didn’t just come from McIngvale’s baseball wagers. Football handle at coastal casinos rose 18.5% to $18.1 million.
Handle also rose overall in Mississippi’s other two casino areas. Northern casinos took $9.2 million in bets, up 19.3% over last October. Central casinos had $5.4 million in handle, which was 61.4% higher than last year.
