In the 1980s, Michael Larson became an overnight celebrity when he appeared on the game show Press Your Luck and set the record for the biggest single-day winnings in game show history. Larson, an ice cream truck driver from Ohio, didn’t become the king of Press Your Luck by chance. He had carefully studied the patterns of the game board and learned how to time his button presses perfectly to land on the high-dollar squares.
How to Beat a Game Show
After losing his savings to a bus ticket to get to the Press Your Luck studio, Larson earned a spot on the show by impressing producers with his rags-to-riches backstory. Though he hit a “Whammy” and lost his first spin, Larson quickly got the timing down and went on a 45-spin tear, racking up over $100,000 in cash and prizes. His competitors were stunned, having only won about $5,000 between them.
Producers scrutinized Larson’s stunning performance, suspecting he had broken the rules by deciphering the game board patterns. However, they found no evidence of cheating and had no choice but to award Larson his record-shattering total. The episode aired as a two-parter but was never re-aired or released again, as the network wanted to bury the proof that their game could be “solved.”
Life After Press Your Luck
Sadly, Larson’s winnings did not lead to lasting success. Half his money vanished into a real estate Ponzi scheme, while the other half was stolen by a robber who knew Larson kept large amounts of cash at home. After a stint as an assistant manager at Walmart, Larson got involved in a shady multi-level marketing company and made $1.8 million before the FBI caught up with him for defrauding investors.
Larson evaded authorities by hiding out in Florida for the last decade of his life. In his rare public statements, he claimed he had cracked the new patterns on Press Your Luck and could still beat the best players. But with his game show glory days far behind him, Larson died in obscurity in 1999 at age 50. Though he proved it was possible to beat the board, his sad post-show life showed that hitting it big on a game show is no guarantee of long-term prosperity.
Things I Learned Last Night is an educational comedy podcast where best friends Jaron Myers and Tim Stone talk about random topics and have fun all along the way. If you like learning and laughing a lot while you do, you’ll love TILLN. Watch or listen to this episode right now!
Sources
Press Your Luck Scandal – Wikipedia
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