Mattress Mac didn't Give Me a Refund Check, but He did give me a Book Idea

Gallery Furniture in Houston gave money back to several hundred of their customers Sunday.  Before the 2014 season, Gallery's owner Jim McIngvale bet that the Astros wouldn't win 63 games (i.e. they WOULD LOSE 100 games).  McIngvale lost this bet as the team won 70 games.

Sunday was McIngavale's day to pay up on the lost wager. Customers who had purchased more than $6300 on furniture during a specified promotional period before the 2014 baseball season received a full refund on their purchase Sunday.  The promotion was limited to the first 500 customers. McIngvale reportedly refunded more than $4.2 million as a result of the lost bet.

I didn't buy any furniture during the promotion, so I didn't get a check from McIngvale Sunday. However, his promotion gave me an idea that, over the course of the 2014 season, grew into my first book.  The Gamble- The Season the Local Brewer Bet Against the Dukes is a tale about the Dukes quest to avoid 100 losses in order to win free beer for their fans.  Without giving too much away, I can tell you that the season's drama is flowing until the final at bat.

You can purchase THE GAMBLE online:

As an online book (pdf)- $2.39

As a paperback- $7.50

The Gamble- A Dukes Tale (Coming in October)

This tale is now available for purchase.  Click here for more information.

It promised to be a long and uninteresting season for the Dukes. Another 100-loss campaign seemed inevitable. Football season couldn't come soon enough. Then, the local brewer added a little zest to the season. FREE BEER for all Dukes fans if the team could avoid 100 losses said Roland Fredericks. A beer-induced buzz swept through the town that summer as Dukes fans loudly cheered for beer. Hope for a few more wins flowed out into the streets. The stage was set for the most memorable season finale for a bad baseball team ever!

NOTE: The above illustration is the cover of The Gamble.  The narrator of the tale is telling his daughter a story about a memory from his childhood.