Mattress Mack’s Sports Website Closes After Being Online Only 7 Months

Mattress Mack’s Sports Website Closes After Being Online Only 7 Months

19 May, 2023

Less than a year after its debut, Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale, who funded the venture into internet sports writing, said on Wednesday that GallerySports.com would be closing permanently.

“It’s with a heavy heart we announce Gallery Sports’ closure today,” the site wrote in a Wednesday afternoon tweet. “Every game, cheer, & unforgettable moment shared with you will forever be cherished.”

GallerySports.com, which debuted in September 2022, aimed to cover “everything in Texas and Louisiana sports.” Famous people like former Houston Chronicle NFL expert John McClain and former employees Richard Justice and John P. Lopez were among the site’s first contributors. According to Matt Young of the Chronicle at the time, the site had plans to eventually expand into the field of sports gambling news and odds.

After placing a record-breaking World Series wager last fall, McIngvale, a devoted sports fan from Houston, has had a succession of high-profile betting losses in 2023; the most recent was a $1.2 million stomach punch over the Kentucky Derby earlier this month.

In the previous year, the furniture tycoon also entered Houston politics, supporting conservative local politicians and screaming against Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo in a full-page newspaper ad. The owner of the Gallery Furniture franchise sued the county in February for access to local election records. According to Jeremy Blackman and Taylor Goldenstein of the Chronicle, McIngvale appealed to state lawmakers in April and referred to Harris County as being “besieged by criminals” while requesting assistance in looking into the county’s 2022 election outcomes. What McIngvale has planned for his upcoming sports media activities is unknown.

Please follow @MattressMack for additional updates, tweeted Gallery Sports on Wednesday. “We are incredibly appreciative of all the assistance received over our journey. Good luck.

There is no word yet on if the site is closing due to Mack’s much publicized betting losses as of late. He may be feeling the heat from those losses and figures its time to cut expenses where they may exist. This is only speculation at this point, however.