Ever since PASPA was repealed in 2018, industry interests have salivated over the prospect of Texas legalizing sports wagering. However, staunch opponents, ranging from Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick to a powerful religious lobby, have made any attempts to usher gambling into the Lone Star State DOA on the Capitol steps.
Houston-based furniture store magnate Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale is as religious as they come, holding numerous charitable fundraisers and quoting Scripture liberally on his Twitter feed. But he is no opponent of gambling. In fact, he has become, in his words, “one of the biggest sports gamblers in the world,” routinely jetting out of state to place million-dollar wagers on major sporting events like the World Series and Super Bowl — while hedging those wagers through a series of can’t-lose (for him, anyway) furniture promotions.
In 2021, McIngvale penned an op-ed for the Houston Chronicle in which he argued that sports betting should be legal in Texas because, among other things, he would “much rather have the tax revenue from my bets directly benefit the people of Texas.” In the two years between the 2021 and 2023 legislative sessions, the landscape in Texas has changed to the point where there are now multiple credible efforts to legalize sports wagering in the state, backed by a broad array of commercial and political interests.
In Tuesday’s Chronicle, columnist Brian T. Smith argued that Texans should have the right to vote on whether they want sports betting to be legalized. They would be given that chance should a constitutional amendment pass through the legislature.
Within Smith’s column was a surprising voice of dissent.
Mack’s ‘seen the light’
“Driving to Louisiana for two hours is not that much of an inconvenience,” McIngvale told Smith. “And I think all that glitters is not gold. They’ve got to look at it, because I’m concerned that the revenue estimates, as far as what’s going to come into the state, are way overblown.”
“My change of heart is that I know myself and I’ve seen the light as far as impulsiveness on me to sports gambling. Because I’ve got to drive to Louisiana, it limits those impulses by a factor of 1,000. So I’m not in favor of sports gambling in Texas.”
Say what?
When asked by Sports Handle to explain his change of heart, McIngvale replied that it came “mainly from a personal standpoint,” adding, “I like the discipline of having to drive to Louisiana or fly to Las Vegas. It’s a great discipline for people like me who might gamble too often otherwise.”
In that respect, good for him. When gamblers recognize the guardrails that might keep them from approaching the precipice of truly problematic behavior, that’s a wonderful thing.
But all gamblers aren’t like McIngvale, and when asked whether his own means of self-control should be legally applied to all Texans, he said, “I’m looking at it from my personal point of view and don’t agree with all these revenue estimates. A lot of people think the sports teams are going to get two-thirds of every bet made or something like that. I know that’s not true, because I know Caesars and some of these sportsbooks have tight margins. The lottery was sold in Texas as the way to solve the problem of money going to schools, and schools have gotten progressively worse.”
In response to Smith tweeting about McIngvale’s stunning shift, readers offered several theories and opinions.
So we should drive to Louisiana to place a $20 parlay then drive back?
— kroger (@Uskrog) February 7, 2023
Scared to take the bloom off the promos?
Sports Handle asked McIngvale whether legalizing sports betting in Texas would take the novelty factor out of his furniture promotions, seeing as his customers would no longer have to rely on him (or a drive to Louisiana) for a piece of the action.
Before getting to McIngvale’s response, here’s how those promos work: Mack announces a huge wager he’s about to make, and anyone who buys a piece of furniture for, say, $3,000 or more gets that furniture for free if Mack wins his bet. But if Mack’s bet loses, the customer is the one paying for that piece of furniture.
McIngvale said his reversal to oppose the legalization of sports betting in Texas “had nothing to do” with his promos, adding, “The customer can’t lose. They’re gonna get a couch either way.”
It depends on how one defines “lose.” They’re getting a couch either way, sure. But one of those ways involves forking over several thousand dollars, while the other delivers that couch for free.
Back in 2021, when he supported legalizing sports betting in his home state, McIngvale told Sports Handle that if he “had to bet the over/under” on when sports betting would be legalized in Texas, he’d “bet over 10 years.” Now, thanks to his own opposition, that’s a bet he may cash.
