COLORADO SPRINGS — Some of the biggest sports betting takes place for Super Bowl Sunday. Now that gambling on sports is legal in the state of Colorado, it's gaining popularity at local casinos and one person even made the trip to Colorado Springs to bet big.
Jim McGinvale, otherwise known as 'Matress Mack', is one person who traveled out of state to bet big. He flew from Texas to Colorado Springs on Wednesday and stayed at the airport for an hour to lock his bet in. He legally placed a $3.46 million bet on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to cover the spread +3.5 against the Kansas City Chiefs. It's the largest bet on the big game so far.
"To bet that much money is almost impossible at some of the book making places that are legal in the United States," said McGingvale, who opened the Draft Kings betting app on his phone at the
Colorado Springs airport to seal the deal. "It was the closest place that had legal sports begging, so I was happy to get on an airplane, and fly there to make the bet."
Sports betting became legal last year in Colorado, after it was passed into law the previous year. Meanwhile, the casino set up sports betting kiosks last summer, which makes it easy for people to place a bet in-person. They can also place a bet with the help of staff.
"The Super Bowl is the Super Bowl of betting for all of sports betting," said Matt Andrighetti, the general manager of Wildwood Casino. "The thing that we're really excited about here is it's an additional amenity to Colorado gaming. People can come up and participate in gaming and doing it responsibly, so it's really foot traffic into the casinos where we're seeing the benefit."
Andrighetti says from November to December, sports wagers in the state went up nearly $50 million, which is helping casinos like his and the industry overall. Not to mention, people who used to fly to other states where sports betting was legal, are now traveling to Colorado, like McGingvale.
"All of the tax revenue, all of the other revenue stays in the state, benefits the people of Colorado," said Andrighetti.
McGingvale owns Gallery Furniture in Houston, TX and has been running a promotion the past two weeks. He sells mattresses and says if the Bucs win, all the customers who bought a mattress during the promotion will get their money back.
"I think it's going to be a great game. I think it'll come down to the fourth quarter right in the final minutes," said McGingvale. "I've rooted for underdogs all my life, so I'm going to put on my mask here and I'm going to start rooting for my Tampa Bay Buccaneers."
