Tiffany Raiford
Furniture stores aren’t exactly the location one goes to place a bet, but you might be surprised just how many furniture stores around the country make it their business to get involved in the betting game. In fact, many of the country’s biggest furniture stores have, in the past, placed bets on local sports teams. Some have won and some have lost, and those losses have been quite significant. Some of them in the millions of dollars. Read on to find out which of your favorite sports teams caused furniture stores to lose millions in sports betting events.
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Gallery Furniture vs. the Astros
When this furniture store’s owner bet against his team, he had to pay up. Jim McIngvale promised more than 500 customers that he would reimburse them for their purchases as long as they spent more than $6300 that included delivery in a week or less for all their purchases. He said that the Houston Astros could win 63 games, he’d do it. And they pulled it off, and he was out nearly $4 million.
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Furniture Mart vs. Seahawks and Broncos
This is a furniture store that promised to pay out more than $200,000 to customers in refunds for purchases that they made in a certain time frame in 2014 before the Super Bowl. The deal was that if either team ran a kickoff back for a touchdown, the store would refund certain purchases that were made. It was a nice promotion, and it was not the first time that the store offered this particular pay out.
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Furniture Mart vs. Baltimore Ravens
The year before, when the Ravens played in the Superbowl, this store offered to refund customers approximately $120,000 if either team was able to run back a kickoff for a touchdown, which the Ravens did with ease. The store was excited that the promotion worked so much so that they offered the same one again the following year. Even though they lost the first year, they even made the choice to up the stakes the second year.
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Gardiner Furniture vs. Superbowl
In 2012, the furniture store made it a deal to pay their customers back for all the furniture they bought in the few days before the Superbowl if the first play of the game was a kickoff run back for a touchdown. There is very little to state that this is very possible in history as there had, at that point, only been 8 kickoff returns in the history of the Superbowl. Fortunately for the furniture store, they saved millions when it did not happen.
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Art Van vs. Snow on Superbowl Sunday
When the city of Toledo ended up with more than 10 inches of snow on Super Bowl Sunday, this furniture store owed its customers around $2.5 million in free furniture. All that came into the store to make a purchase on the 17th of the month were given their furniture free because the store did not believe that the city would end up with more than 3 inches of snow on the big day. It turned into a snowy mess for Art Van, however, with a loss like that one.
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Gallery Furniture vs. Seattle Seahawks
The same furniture store and its owner, Jim McIngvale, should really learn a lesson. Before he made his bet against the Astros, he promised customers that spent more than $6000 at a time in his store that if the Seahawks won the Superbowl, he would give them a refund on their entire purchase. When the Seahawks won the game, he had to give his customers approximately $7 million in refunds.
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Gardiners Furniture vs. Baltimore Ravens
Back in 2013 this furniture store promised everyone who purchased furniture from them in the four days prior to the Super Bowl a refund on their purchases if the Ravens were able to do just one thing during the Superbowl. All the team had to do was run a kickoff back for a touchdown and a refund would be theirs. And that’s exactly what Jacoby Jones did at the beginning of the second half, which resulted in a $600,000 refund to customers.
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Gallery Furniture vs. AFC and NFC Championships
When Jim McIngvale promised his customers that he’d give them free furniture – up to 100 customers – to anyone who could correctly guess the winners of both the AFC and NFC championship games, he was out another large sum of money. In fact he was out nearly $1 million this time. You’d think that by now he’d learn to stop making sports bets since he’s just not that good at them – clearly. He’s lost more than $12 million thanks to his betting.
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Marlo Furniture vs. the Orioles and the Nationals
One local furniture store has promised that any customers in four of their stores that made a purchase between March 30th and April 6th a refund on their purchases if the Orioles and the Nationals meet for the World Series. The store wants to do this for their communities so that they can bring people together and make something otherwise a little fun a whole lot more fun. It might even work, too.
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Ashley Furniture vs. Ohio State Buckeyes
When the store offered a huge refund to customers who spent more than $1999 at their stores on furniture during a specific time frame if the Buckeyes won the national title by more than 7 points, they had to pay up big time. The refund amount is not public, but local papers stated that 500 people would be getting a refund, and at a minimum purchase of $2k per person, that’s a refund of at least $1 million. That’s a big loss for the store.
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Morris Home Furniture Store vs. Ohio State Buckeyes
Not to be outdone by the competition, Morris Home Furniture Store offered its customers the same refund if the Buckeyes won the first college playoff title, which they did. The rules were the same; anyone who made any purchase that exceeds $1999 would receive a refund if the Buckeyes won. The store was out a lot of money, though the exact amount was never disclosed but it’s been reported that it’s around $1.5 million.
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Ashley Furniture vs. Texas A&M
Texas A&M played the South Carolina Game Cocks for the first game of the college football season in 2014. The store offered customers that purchased furniture at their College Station store in August a refund on their purchases if the Aggies won by at least 10 points during the season opener. No one really expected them to beat an SEC team by that many points, though they were hopeful for a win. However, the Aggies killed the Game Cocks by a staggering 24 points. The dollar amount was not disclosed.
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Gardiner Furniture vs. Superbowl Teams
Back in 2011 it was the first year that this store had the bright idea to start a big promotion to help their business grow. The owners decided that they would offer their customers a total refund if either team in the Superbowl that weekend was able to complete a kickoff return in the big game only at the beginning of the game. The potential loss was in the millions, but it did not happen. Two years, later, however, it did. And the furniture store lost. Thanks goodness they purchased an insurance policy.
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World Furniture Mall vs. Chicago Bears
Back in 2006, a furniture company in Plano was forced to refund hundreds of thousands of dollars in furniture after he promised his customers a refund if the Bears shut out the Packers in the season opener. He promised to refund up to $10,000 per customer, and he had to do just that after Brett Favre was handed his first shutout of his career after losing 26 to nothing. It was a big day for the store and for the customers who walked away with free furniture afterward.
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Jordan’s Furniture vs. Boston
When the Boston Red Sox won the 2007 World Series, the furniture store owed millions to fans who bought furniture at the store. The promotion he ran was a refund on all furniture purchased between March 7 and April 16. The store bet that the Red Sox would lose the game and not take home the title. It was a bit of a loss for the store when they did win, but the owner did take out an insurance policy on the bet, which was for the best.
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Better Sleep Stores vs. Ohio State Buckeyes
In accordance with some of the other stores in the area that made a bet that the Buckeyes could not manage to pull off the national championship for the first ever college playoff games, Better Sleep stores owed their shoppers millions after offering free furniture to them if the Buckeyes won the game by at least 7 points, which they more than did. It was just another loss for another store after the game.
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Jordan’s Furniture vs. Boston Red Sox
A few years back, the company narrowly escaped paying millions in free furniture reimbursements to customers after another promotion. This time they placed a plate-sized target in center field at Fenway Park. If the plate was hit during a game after July 15 that year, free furniture would be given to all the people who purchased furniture at a specific time during the year. The company narrowly escaped millions payouts from this one.
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Jordan’s Furniture vs. Boston Red Sox
This is a company that likes to gamble, and they do it every year. During this particular season, they’ve offered to give free furniture to their customers who purchased their furniture within a certain time frame. This free furniture would be given to their customers provided the team is able to pitch a perfect game the second half of the season between July and September. The odds seem pretty favorable for this one, right?
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Jordan’s Furniture vs. Boston Red Sox
Following the year they paid millions to shoppers after the Red Sox won the World Series, the company got just a bit smarter. They bet their fans and shoppers that team could not win the World Series in a shutout. If they did, the store would pay millions of dollars to their shoppers who purchased a certain amount of furniture on a certain date, and that would be the end of it. Needless to say, their very specific betting requirements allowed them to hold onto their winnings that year.
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Furniture for Less vs. North Dakota State Bison
During last year’s season, this furniture store offered anyone who spent more than $2015 on furniture in the store in a specific time frame a complete refund if the Bison won the FSC title game by 14 points or more. The bet was a big one, but fortunately it worked out for the furniture store that the team did not meet the demands of the wager. It would have meant millions in losses for the store as everyone wanted a bit of that action.
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