36 Facts About Michael Larson

Paul Michael Larson was an American television game show contestant from Ohio who appeared on the CBS program Press Your Luck in 1984.

Michael Larson was able to win by memorizing the patterns used on the Press Your Luck game board.

Michael Larson used his cash winnings to pay taxes and invested most of the rest in bad real estate deals.

Michael Larson later fled Ohio while under investigation for fraud.

Michael Larson was found to be living in Florida when he died of throat cancer at the age of 49.

For several years, Michael Larson was a Mister Softee ice cream truck driver as well as an air conditioning mechanic.

Michael Larson withdrew the money as quickly as possible, closed the account, and then repeated the process under a different name.

Michael Larson started a fake business under the name of one of his family members and hired himself to work for the company.

Michael Larson then laid himself off in order to earn unemployment benefits.

Michael Larson used his VCR to record episodes of Press Your Luck shortly after its premiere on CBS in September 1983.

Michael Larson began memorizing these patterns, increasingly confident he could predict when and where the randomizer would land.

Michael Larson began playing along with the "Big Board" rounds to test his hypothesis and paused his VHS tape at various intervals.

Michael Larson discovered that the fourth and eighth squares always contained cash and never a "Whammy," a bandit-like cartoon character that, when landed on, resulted in the resetting of the player's score to zero, accompanied by an onscreen animation that showed the Whammy taking the player's earnings.

Michael Larson learned that the fourth square clockwise always contained the top dollar values and that in the second round, contestants were awarded an additional spin if they landed on those spots.

In May 1984, Michael Larson used most of his savings to fly to Los Angeles, California, to audition for Press Your Luck at CBS Television City, where the show was taped.

Michael Larson was added as a contestant on the fourth episode of the taping session, scheduled to air on Friday, June 8,1984.

Long recalled that Michael Larson asked him how many times he had seen the show.

Michael Larson did not buzz in again, answering the last two questions multiple choice and finishing with three spins, behind Long's four and Litras's ten.

Michael Larson buzzed in correctly for two of the four questions, and he earned a total of seven spins in the second question round, ahead of Litras's three and Long's two.

Tomarken was increasingly astounded that Michael Larson was still spinning despite not having seen a Whammy for so long.

Michael Larson continued to press on, passing more and more milestone markers without losing any of his four remaining spins.

Michael Larson intended to keep spinning until he had reached $100,000.

Litras then took her turn, starting with the first of the four spins Michael Larson had passed that she was required to take by rule.

Litras then passed those spins to Michael Larson, who was visibly upset and said, "I didn't want 'em," as he received the three spins.

Nonetheless, Michael Larson picked up where he had left off, following his patterns, and hit his marks with his first two spins.

Michael Larson passed them to Litras, who failed to earn any additional spins with them, and despite winning extra money on them, she could not come anywhere near Michael Larson's grand total, thus ending the game.

Once Michael Larson racked up $36,851 in 15 spins, the producers cut to a freeze frame of the contestant area and Tomarken then tossed to a commercial.

Freeze frames, with voiceovers by Tomarken, were used to lead into and out of the first three commercial breaks when Michael Larson eclipsed the $50,000 and $100,000 marks, and when Litras later passed her spins to Michael Larson.

Michael Larson kept going around the board and hitting that box.

At first, CBS refused to pay Michael Larson, considering him a cheater.

On January 14,2018, GSN aired a second documentary on the Michael Larson story entitled Cover Story: The Press Your Luck Scandal.

Michael Larson ran a promotions and marketing company, Group Dynamics Downline, out of his Lebanon home.

In November 1984, Michael Larson learned about a local radio show promotion promising a $30,000 prize for matching a $1 bill's serial number with a random number read out on the air.

Michael Larson left about $50,000 in his house, and it was stolen in a burglary while he was attending a Christmas party.

Michael Larson told TV Guide in 1994 that after the burglary, he called on the producers of Press Your Luck to stage a "tournament of champions" for a chance to score big again.

In 1994, the release of the film Quiz Show renewed discussion about game show scandals, and Michael Larson was interviewed on ABC's Good Morning America.