Mattress Mack is going under the knife.
The Houston-area furniture businessman, whose real name was Jim McIngvale, gained national notoriety for his wild promotions that offered free furniture to local sports teams if they won championships.
He partially funds his promotions by placing large futures bets on the outcome.
Thursday morning, Mackingvale Announced in the video of X He had been suffering from health problems in recent months.
“Marvin Zindler used to say, 'Getting old is hell.' I was getting older little by little,” he said.
“I had cellulitis in my leg a few months ago and the people at Texas Medical Center fixed that problem. Now I have a leaking mitral valve in my heart. ”
He said he is scheduled to undergo open heart surgery next Tuesday.
Of course, Mr. McIngvale couldn't let the health scare go by without some salesmanship.
“A lot of people are calling and asking what they can do for me,” McIngvale continued. “The best thing you can do for me is obviously pray, and if you need furniture, come out and buy some furniture. That will alleviate my anxiety a lot.”
He hopes to return to work in about 10 days after the surgery.
“So please pray for me. The best way to cheer me up is to come and buy new furniture,” he repeated.
The scale of McIngvale's sports betting operations has been a hot topic for years.
Earlier this year, he bet $1 million on Houston to win the NCAA Tournament at +750.
If the Astros had won the World Series in 2023, they would have won $43 million on a bet of about $7 million.
