Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale has placed a $1 million bet for the NCAA champion to come from the East Region, which features No. 1 Baylor.
Mattress Mack placed a massive March Madness bet late Wednesday night that has some local flair.
Houston furniture salesman Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale, who is known for placing huge wagers, bet $1 million on the men’s NCAA tournament champion to come out of the East region at +260 odds. McIngvale will win $2.6 million if his bet hits.
McIngvale is known for placing big bets on the Astros, and the East Region features two Texas schools in No. 1 Baylor (+1200 future odds) and No. 6 Texas (+6600). It also contains No. 2 Kentucky (+800), No. 3 Purdue (+1800) and No. 4 UCLA (+2200).
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A sleeper like No. 5 Saint Mary’s (+12500) or No. 8 North Carolina (+12500) could make a run but, realistically, McIngvale is hoping for Baylor to repeat as national champions or Kentucky to win its first title since 2012.
Baylor faces a tough challenge in trying to repeat, but entered the tournament tied with Kentucky with +240 odds to win the East Region.
Perhaps the Longhorns could make an unexpected run, although they have a tough draw in the first round against Virginia Tech.
The favorite to win it all is No. 1 Gonzaga, out of the West Region, followed by No. 1 Arizona from the South Region.
The last time McIngvale dropped a huge bet was on Super Bowl LVI. He liked the Bengals to defeat the Rams and wagered $4 million on the upset.
Cincinnati came close and even led late, but McIngvale lost when Los Angeles beat Cincinnati, 23-20, in its home stadium.
The national championship game will be played in New Orleans on April 4. McIngvale surely hopes a team from the East will be cutting down the nets in the Big Easy—and perhaps one of the two Texas teams with top-six seeds in the region.
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