Extending his passion

The Texan business kingpin famous for his wild sports wagers has extended his passion into a news site centered around major league and collegiate franchises from Texas and Louisiana.

plans for a sports betting-focused website

News of Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale’s venture into sports journalism with the launch of gallerysports.com emerged last week, along with plans for a sports betting-focused website. McIngvale took to Twitter ahead of the NFL’s opening weekend to raise awareness about his new site:

Gallerysports is billing itself as the “#1 source for Texas & Louisiana regional sports coverage. Period.” The site lists Mattress Mack, 71, as the prime sports writer, along with the ex-Houston Chronicle trio of Richard Justice, John Lopez, and John McClain.

According to the Houston Chronicle, McIngvale has revealed that the newly-launched site precedes his plan to roll out Gallery Gaming. It will focus on sports betting information and news, with McIngvale aiming for both domains to convert customers to visit his Gallery Furniture retail stores.

Furniture-selling tools

McIngvale was extremely active on Twitter throughout the NFL’s first weekend of the new season, offering insight on Cowboys and Texans games while posting links to his new sports site. He told the Chronicle that he and his son believe sports is the ideal way to engage with customers, affirming that they both “like content that will drive customers to Gallery Furniture.”

content talking about different odds, scenarios and some of the crazy things I’m doing.”

For now, all Mack revealed regarding his plans for a betting site was that the website will have “content talking about different odds, scenarios and some of the crazy things I’m doing.”

The entrepreneur told the Chronicle, however, that the aim behind his online sports ventures isn’t to make money directly, but to raise brand awareness and market his furniture business. “We’re not concerned about revenue right now, more concerned about eyeballs,” McIngvale explained.

A big bettor

McIngvale has plenty of experience regarding his plans for a betting site, given the furniture tycoon’s history of multimillion-dollar wagers on high-profile sporting events.

Most recently, he lost $2.6m betting on this year’s Kentucky Derby after a +8000 shot took the win. He also lost $9.65m on the Super Bowl in February by backing the Cincinnati Bengals.