Mattress Mack, who earned his nickname from wearing mattresses during wacky television commercials he credits with saving his business in the early ’80s, has furnished the homes of 30 underprivileged families for Christmas the past 36 years, feeds thousands of people on Thanksgiving and recently treated nuns, Gold Star families and kids with cancer to World Series games.
Jim McIngvale. He’s 68, a force of nature who works seven days a week and runs 5 miles a day. He started out selling furniture under tents on the side of the freeway. From there, he built Gallery Furniture into one of the top furniture retailers in the country, with more than $200 million in annual sales revenue at its three Houston locations.
Mack said that his father inspired him to be generous and that the ultimate goal in life for him and his wife, Linda, is to make a difference.
“It’s not about me. It’s about helping make the community a better place,” he said. “That’s what I’m trying to do: to establish a legacy of my wife and I that maybe we made the community a little better.”
"Mattress Mack" had reason to celebrate the Houston Astros' World Series win on Saturday -- and not just because he's an Astros superfan.
Houston furniture store owner Jim McIngvale, known as "Mattress Mack," made a series of bets amounting to $10 million on the Astros to win the World Series.
And when his team won the franchise's second World Series title with a 4-2 victory against the Philadelphia Phillies, McIngvale took home $75 million -- widely reported to be the largest payout in the history of sports betting.
McIngvale told CNN last year that he made the huge wagers on a potential World Series title for the Astros to cover another gamble of sorts: customers who bought certain mattresses costing $3,000 or more will get their money back if the Astros win.
He told FOX 26 on Saturday that the $75 million will mostly be paid out to customers as part of the Gallery Furniture chain's promotion.
"The Astros did all the work, all I did was bet the money," McIngvale said.
The 71-year-old is famous for the huge bets he has placed on sports games over the years -- including a $3.35 million stake placed in June 2021 on the Astros winning last year's World Series -- and was filmed celebrating wildly during his team's championship-winning game at Minute Maid Park.
In the Houston community, McIngvale is well known in for his charitable work, turning his stores into shelters to help people displaced by severe weather events, such as Hurricane Harvey.
"I'm so proud to be part of this city and will ALWAYS stand up for what's right ... [and] will always do my best to act QUICKLY and on the side of the people," he added in his statement.
McIngvale also threw out the first pitch ahead of Saturday's game, which he described as "an honor."
The Astros' 4-1 win against the Phillies was the first time since 2013 that a team has claimed the World Series title at its home field.
Sources: Review Journal, CNN
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