First, some essential background: Buckhantz needs the softest mattresses he can find. Merely mention the existence of the modern-day platform bed to him, and he’ll burst into the world’s most rousing harangue about the demise of the box spring and how he doesn’t mind his beds “droopy.” But against Buckhantz’s liking, hotels will try to firm up mattresses. When beds get too soft, he’s noticed, even the fanciest of places will stick a king-sized piece of plywood between a mattress and box spring to give the sleeper a little extra support.
He started finding these slats of plywood and tugging them out from under mattresses, “which is not easy,” he brags. He’ll stand them up against walls for the housekeeping staff to find the next day.
...
The historic event at the Westin Harbour Castle wasn’t the first instance of Buckhantz tearing out the plywood. But it was the first example of his unearthing an extracurricular item.
“I lift up my mattress to see if the plywood is under there,” Buckhantz said. “And lo and behold, I find some objectionable material.”
A pornographic magazine. Just waiting there to be spotted.
But while a run-of-the-mill guest hypothetically put in the same situation may notice only nude photographs under the mattress, that’s not how Buckhantz’s mind works. He thought bigger. What he saw was leverage.
That magazine carved a path to exactly what he wanted: an upgrade.
“I called down to the front desk and I said, ‘Could you send someone up here to remove this material from underneath my mattress? And I’d love to be in a suite if I could.’ I was in (a suite in) 15 minutes,” Buckhantz said before digging for the sarcasm Wizards fans know all too well. “Miraculously, they found one.”
Since then, he looks under every mattress in every one of his hotel rooms. That’s for 22 years, 41 road games a season. Pornography is the most common discovery, but it’s far from the only one. He’s also come upon peanut shells, condoms, vodka bottles, cigarettes and water bottles.