Mattress Mack places $1m bet on Houston to win March Madness… and furniture magnate would win $7.5m if Cougars can go all the way!

Mattress Mack predicts his hometown Houston Cougars will win this year’s March Madness, as Caesars Sportsbook announced Thursday that it had placed a $1 million bet on the team.

Houston, No. 1 in the latest AP Basketball Poll, has been given +750 odds to win the men’s basketball national championship.

That would put $7.5 million in the pockets of Mack, whose real name is Jim McIngvale, who has a history of massive sports betting.

In January, he lost $1 million betting on Texas to win the College Football Playoff after the Longhorns lost to Washington in the Sugar Bowl.

He also lost $6.15 million betting on Alabama to beat Georgia in last year’s College Football Playoffs, and spent $9.5 million predicting the Bengals would beat the Rams in Super Bowl LVI.

The Cougars are 25-3 overall and No. 1 in the latest AP men’s college basketball poll.

But McIngvale has also had some big wins, most famously the $75 million windfall he got from the Astros winning the 2022 World Series.

He could earn $43.4 million if the Astros repeated last season. They lost in the American League Championship Series to the Rangers.

He also won $12.2 million betting on Kansas to win the national men’s basketball title that same year.

Mattress Mack’s winning bets are reinvested into its store, Gallery Furniture, as it runs promotions that promise free items if your bets are successful.

Jim ‘Mattress Mack’ McIngvale lost $43.4 million when the Astros lost Game 7 last year

Originally from Texas, Mack also bet $4.05 million on Houston to win last year’s March Madness, according to the New York Post.

The Cougars ultimately fell in the Sweet 16.

McIngvale has also lost big with the Astros, having bet $13 million on them to beat the Nationals in the 2019 World Series.

Houston is 25-3 overall this season and leads the Big 12 as March Madness approaches.