The Tampa Bay Buccaneers recently took on the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV. The latter was looking for its second-straight championship.
However, Tom Brady and the Buccaneers had different plans and won 31-9. Brady enjoyed a record-seventh Super Bowl victory while passing for 201 yards and three touchdowns. He wasn’t the only one winning big through the 2021 Super Bowl. Some bettors also felt like champions, thanks to huge wins.
Unfortunately, certain gamblers also tasted bitter defeat. That said, here’s a look at the biggest winners and losers from Super Bowl LV betting.
Betting Winners from 2021 Super Bowl
Not all of the big bettors on this year’s Super Bowl are known. As you’ll see below, though, Jim ‘Mattress Mack’ McIngvale had no problem letting his huge wager be known.
Mattress Mack Wins $2.72m
Owner of Houston’s Gallery Furniture, Jim McIngvale has become famous for unique bets. He once offered storewide refunds of up to $3,000 if the Houston Astros won the 2019 World Series. He hedged this promotion by making multimillion-dollar wagers on the Astros winning the Series.
The Washington Nationals won in seven games. McIngvale didn’t have to honor the $3k refunds, but he did lose an estimated $12-$14 million in betting tickets.
Mattress Mack won a large chunk of this money back through the 2021 Super Bowl. He wagered $3.46 million on the underdog Buccaneers covering +3.5 on the spread.
McIngvale faced higher-than-normal juice (-127) when placing this wager. Nevertheless, he flew into Colorado Springs, CO anyways and placed the massive bet at DraftKings. Mattress Mack explained his thought process on wagering on the favorite.
“Tampa Bay is loaded with talent on both sides of the ball and led by the greatest football player of all time in Tom Brady,” he said. “I’m betting big on the Bucs who have overcome tough matchups throughout this postseason.”
Once again, McIngvale hedged his bet by offering $3,000 refunds on new mattresses if Tampa Bay won. Therefore, he didn’t quite pull in a $2.72 million profit. The good news, though, is that it was McIngvale’s customers—not the bookies—benefiting this time around.
The record is a $4.8 million bet that was placed on the Los Angeles Rams to beat the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXVI. They lost the $4.8m when the underdog Patriots won 20-17.
Another Bettor Wins Millions on Tampa Bay
Jim McIngvale wasn’t the only one going big on the Buccaneers. An anonymous gambler wagered $2.3 million on the Bucs covering +3.5.
They got in earlier than Mattress Mack and, thus, enjoyed lower juice (-115) on Tampa Bay, beating the spread. The whale placed a mobile wager through BetMGM Las Vegas. Until McIngvale’s $3.46m wager, this gambler had made the biggest bet.
“This was a bet we were very happy to receive,” said Jason Scott, VP of trading for BetMGM. “We had previously written several other six-figure bets, all on Kansas City, and the public is certainly behind Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes.”
This gambler’s $2.3m wager paid off when Tampa Bay easily covered their spread. They collected a $2 million payout, which was the second largest for Super Bowl LV.
Gambler Wins $275,000 Payout
The Buccaneers’ spread was very popular among whales. One gambler wagered $330,000 on Tampa Bay, covering +3.5.
This bettor faced -120 juice, which was in between what the BetMGM gambler (-115) and McIngvale (-127) got in at. They benefited in a major way from their bet by winning $275k.
Betting Losers from 2021 Super Bowl
The biggest losers from this year’s Super Bowl backed the favored Chiefs and QB Patrick Mahomes. Here are some gamblers who wish they could take these wagers back.
Bettor Sees $1.16 Million Vanish on Chiefs Wager
One whale risked seven figures on Kansas City’s moneyline (-155). They bet $1,160,000 for a chance at winning $748,400.
Their wager fell well short of a success. Kansas City failed to consistently move the ball on Tampa Bay and lost by 22 points.
Gambler Drops $520k on Losing KC
The second-biggest bet on the Chiefs was worth $520,000. An anonymous gambler dropped this amount on the Kansas City’s moneyline (-120) in hopes of winning $433,333.
They were one of the 82% in betting slips placed on KC. Like many others, they came up short after the Buccaneers’ dominant victory.
Super Bowl Streaker
Yuri Andrade provided one of the most-interesting moments of the 2021 Super Bowl. He streaked across the field before being brought down by security.
The Florida man and his buddies collectively bet $50,000 on a streaking incident (+740) happening during Super Bowl LV. They were set to cash in on $374,000 in winnings.
Of course, Bovada—the mobile sportsbook that took this wager—obviously took exception to Andrade’s efforts. They’re not going to pay out due to the fact that Andrade himself was the streaker.
“Our players have always trusted us to ensure the integrity of all props offered in our sportsbook,” the company noted. “We will continue to make sure that any publicity stunts or ill-intended behavior cannot adversely affect the outcome of a player’s wager.”
Perhaps Andrade shouldn’t have appeared on a Boca Raton radio station to discuss the matter. During the Wild 94.1 interview, the 31-year-old admitted that he was part of a group who bet “Yes” on the streaker.
His friends hatched a plot that included two streakers. Andrade’s buddy acted as a streaking decoy, while he ran out second and stayed on the field longer.
He had to front $1,000 bail to avoid jail time.
Prop Bettors Hoping for Dream Wins
As with every year, land-based and online sportsbooks offered many interesting Super Bowl LV prop bets. Here are some of the unique prop wagers that were offered:
- Buccaneers score 4 points +999900
- Chiefs score 4 points +999900
- Buccaneers score 2 points +500000
- Chiefs score 2 points +500000
- Sammy Watkins (KC) to win Super Bowl MVP +20000
- Sammy Watkins to score the game’s first touchdown +2500
- Sammy Watkins to score the Chief’s first touchdown +1500
One gambler bet $100 on the Bucs scoring four points, which would’ve netted them a $999,900 profit. They needed Tampa Bay to rack up two safeties and no other scores. This rare occurrence obviously didn’t happen, though.
Another bettor risked $4,000 on Watkins scoring the first touchdown. They stood to win $100,000, but Kansas City as a team failed to score a TD.
One more person bet big on Watkins after risking $6,666 on him scoring the Chiefs’ first TD. They would’ve earned $99,990 if this wager came through.
Conclusion
The Super Bowl was yet another big gambling extravaganza. It was marked by one of the largest wagers in the event’s history along with many entertaining prop bets.
Jim ‘Mattress Mack’ McIngvale was the story of Super Bowl LV betting. He risked $3.46 million on the Bucs and won $2.72 million.
Another gambler placed a $2.3 million on Tampa Bay. They collected a $2 million payout thanks to the Buccaneers’ win.
Of course, this year’s event saw plenty of big losers too. One bettor risked and lost $1.16 million on the KC moneyline. Another bettor lost $520,000 by wagering on the Chiefs’ moneyline.
Yuri Andrade—the Super Bowl streaker—basically wagered $50k on himself streaking across the field. He was set to win $374k, but Bovada didn’t pay out after becoming wise to the scheme.
The 2021 Super Bowl will go down as one of the wildest in terms of betting action. It’ll be interesting to see what happens next year with Super Bowl gambling.
