Jim McIngvale, known more famously as "Mattress Mack" is already down two significant teams in his $1 million bet on the NCAA Tournament. He doesn't plan to sit back and watch the rest go up in flames.
Earlier this week, Mack risked $1 million on the East Region to win the NCAA Tournament at +260 odds, which will profit $2.6 million if it hits. The problem? The top two seeds are already out.
No. 2 Kentucky lost its opening round game against No. 15 St. Peter's. On Saturday, No. 1 Baylor fell in overtime to No. 8 North Carolina.
What was only a 19.8 percent chance of winning before the tournament started, according to Action Network Director of Predictive Analytics Sean Koerner's projections, is now even worse.
Koerner's latest projections give the East just a 12.9 percent chance of producing the team that wins the NCAA Tournament. That's the smallest chance of any region.
With hopes likely clinging to Purdue or UCLA, Mack has plans for more.
Mack told Action Network's Darren Rovell that he will make other bets "to hedge as the tournament continues."
Mack has boosted his name — and business — by making huge wagers on postseason events. He uses the bets to hedge promotions at his furniture business, which offers refunds based on which teams win.
His mattress business is based in Texas, which means he usually targets local teams. Baylor and Texas are both in the East Region.
Following North Carolina's upset of Baylor, Koerner projects the West as having a 39 percent chance of winning the tournament. That's a slight bump from an already high number of 37 percent before the tournament began.
