Million-Dollar Sports Bettor Mattress Mack Recovering From Heart Surgery

Jim “Mattress Mack" McIngvale, a popularTexas furniture store owner who has bet millions on sporting events, is recovering this week from open-heart surgery at a Houston hospital.

McIngvale, 73, is posting updates in X, including one on Sunday, stating that he is recovering. He thanked the staff at Houston Methodist Hospital in the Texas Medical Center. 

Also on X, McIngvale mentioned he is recovering at the hospital in a Mack Zcliner, noting that information about the chair is available on the Gallery Furniture website. He said he hopes to be back in the store “in a couple of weeks.”

Last week, McIngvale said in an X post that he was scheduled on Dec. 10 for a four-hour heart surgery to repaid a "leaky mitral valve." 

According to Houston Public Media, a leaking mitral valve "can result in insufficient blood moving through the heart or the rest of the body. Common symptoms include shortness of breath and lack of energy.”

“Without proper treatment, a leaky mitral valve can cause irregular heart rhythm and heart failure,” Houston Public Media reported, citing the Mayo Clinic.

Mattress Mack Places Bets In Legal Louisiana

McIngvale’s well-publicized sports betting has included winning $72.6 million on the 2022 World Series by wagering on his hometown Houston Astros against the Philadelphia Phillies. The Astros defeated the Phillies by four games to two that year to take the title.

Because sport betting is illegal in Texas, McIngvale travels out of state, often to Louisiana, to place large sports bets. The Louisiana state line is a little more than 100 miles from Houston, the nation’s fourth most populated city. Sports betting is legal Louisiana in person at sportsbooks and, in most parishes, on mobile devices.

“I’m perfectly happy going to Louisiana,” McIngvale told Gambling.com earlier this year. “All I do is sell furniture and go to Louisiana and bet.”

During the 2025 Texas legislative session, lawmakers are expected to address gaming expansion in the state, including measures to legalize sports betting. Previous legislative effort to expand gaming in Texas have been unsuccessful.

McIngvale has told Gambling.com he doubts sports betting will be approved in the near future in Texas, in part because of opposition from religious factions.

“They can’t pass anything,” McIngvale said of Texas legislators. “It’s a fractured group.”