Furniture chain happy it lost big on Super Bowl

Gardiners Furniture made a losing bet around the hometown Baltimore Ravens in Sunday's Super Bowl, but is basking in the results.

According to The Baltimore Sun, the store said all furniture purchased between Thursday and 3 p.m. on game day would be free if a Raven returned a kick for a touchdown during the game.

And that's just what happened at the start of the second half, when Jacoby Jones did it with a 108 yard kickoff return.

That means Gardiners has to give away some $600,000 in merchandise.

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But Gardiners co-owner Gary Mullaney told the Sun the promotion clicked: His phone's been ringing non-stop.

"This morning has just been crazy," Mullaney said Monday. "People are hearing about this all over the country."

Luckily for Gardiners, it has insurance for this type of circumstance. The policy cost $12,000, but Mullaney considers it an advertising investment, the Sun says, adding that the "amount of attention that's come Gardiners' way since the bet has been priceless."

This is the third time the store has run the promotion. The idea, says the Sun, is "to get people thinking about furniture during a weekend when almost no one is."

Gardiners was fielding calls Monday from people who wanted to get their rebates - and some from some who just wanted free furniture.

Store officials told the Sun they'll give money back only to people with stamped receipts -- after the insurance kicks in.