Bears Shutout Costly to Furniture Store

By Benjy Lipsman in News on Sep 13, 2006 12:49PM

Chicagoist better than to expect to win when betting on football, especially when the Bears are involved. The last time we were in Vegas, we saw the Bears lose and miss covering the spread by 1 damn point after a Grossman endzone interception with 0:18 left in the game. Rather than a celebratory cocktail before heading to the airport, we left town with our wallet somewhat lighter.

At least ours wasn't as light as Randy Gonigam's now is. See, Goningam owns World Furniture Mall is downstate Plano, IL. His store ran a Labor Day promotion which offered full refunds to all customers if the Bears shut out the Packers on Opening Day. Sure enough, the Bears pounded the Packers 26-0, meaning that Gonigam owes over 200 customers refunds totalling over $300,000!

Actually, the deal won't end up costing Gonigam the whole $300k. He was smart enough to take out an insurance policy with a company called Odds On Promotions, a prize indemnification company. While the policy protected his losses, it still cost him in the ten's of thousands of dollars.

Of course, with all the free press he and his store has received because of this promotion, it was probably a good investment! And it was definitely better that the Bears did shut out the Packers ... who would have covered the story if he didn't have to pay up!