Man Places Huge Wager on Houston Astros to Win World Series

Recently, a Houston furniture salesman placed one of the largest bets ever on the Houston Astros to win the MLB World Series.

Jim McIngvale apparently bet $3.5 million on the baseball team at the Scarlet Pearl casino in Mississippi. If the Houston Astros had won, he would have won a net $7.7 million, more than double of what he bet.

This is not the first time he has done so, McIngvale also placed a $200,000 World Series bet on the Astros in Las Vegas. The American also has additional wagers for undisclosed amounts with a number of other bookmakers.

“I think it’s the biggest [bet] that’s ever happened in Mississippi,” DraftKings chief revenue officer and co-founder Matt Kalish said.

McIngvale has been in communication with multiple sportsbooks in New Jersey, inquiring about making large wagers. In early September, bookmaker FanDuel, after discussions with McIngvale, requested approval from New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement to accept a bet of greater than $5 million on the Astros.

The Astros were down to +210 in DraftKings’ odds to win the World Series after taking McIngvale’s bet. The Dodgers are the second favorite at +260.

Prior to McIngvale’s wager, more money had been bet on the New York Yankees to win the World Series at DraftKings than had been bet on any other team. The Yankees are +425.

“This does change the picture for us a little bit,” Kalish said Tuesday. “This will make the Astros the biggest liability.”

McIngvale is actually a beloved figure in Houston. He opened his furniture store to those in need during flooding caused by Hurricane Harvey and says he always roots for the Astros, regardless of his position.

The Astros will host the winner of the Tampa Bay Rays-Oakland Athletics wild-card game in an American League divisional series.

In the weeks leading up to baseball’s postseason, McIngvale hired two Las Vegas gamblers to help him locate the best price. Anthony Curtis, one of the gamblers, said McIngvale was looking to get down upward of $10 million on the Astros.