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Paul Larson Biography & Facts

The Press Your Luck scandal was Michael Larson's record-breaking game show win of $110,237 (equivalent to $323,296 in 2023). An Ohio man with a penchant for get-rich-quick schemes, Larson studied CBS' then-new game show Press Your Luck and discovered that its random element was actually only five different patterns of lights. After successfully auditioning in person at the Los Angeles studio, Larson performed on May 19, 1984, and beat the show so dramatically, he was accused by CBS of cheating. After the network paid, Larson moved on to other endeavors, eventually fleeing from law-enforcement under suspicion of fraud, and dying in hiding in Apopka, Florida. Background Press Your Luck CBS' Press Your Luck is a half-hour television game show. Each half of the show began with a round of multiple-choice questions, where contestants earned three spins of the Big Board for each correct answer. The Big Board was a ring of 18 light-up squares that rapidly illuminated in a seemingly random sequence until a contestant pressed their button to stop the lights. The sequence was actually limited to only five different patterns, a holdover from the pilot episode's limited budget, an Achilles' heel and calculated risk understood by the show's producers. Each chosen square represented three results, including prizes such as vacations, cash, and extra spins on the board; each spin also had a one-in-six chance to hit a Whammy, an animated character who wiped out that contestant's accumulated winnings. Over the show's first few episodes, winners averaged about US$14,000 (equivalent to about $43,000 in 2023). The show ran from September 1983 to September 1986, hosted by Peter Tomarken. Michael Larson Paul Michael "Mike" Larson was born to Ruth Larson on May 10, 1949 in Lebanon, Ohio. One of four brothers, he graduated Lebanon High School in 1967. By 1983 he was twice divorced and living at the home of his girlfriend, Teresa Dinwitty; she would later say of her "boyfriend and common-law husband, 'He always thought he was smarter than everybody else,' and that he had a 'constant yearning for knowledge.'" Larson had three children by three different women, including Jennifer (born May 18, 1978). Larson's penchant for "always running some little scam or another" began at an early age, secretly selling marked-up candy bars to other middle-school students. Other schemes included repeatedly opening and closing bank accounts under assumed identities with companies that offered $500 for each new customer. He once registered a business under a family member's name so as to fire himself and collect unemployment insurance. He was arrested by Ohio law-enforcement thrice between 1969 and 1982 for receiving and concealing stolen goods, larceny by trick, and petty theft. By 1983, he worked repairing air conditioning systems, drove a Mister Softee ice cream truck, and spent the rest of his time studying a wall of twelve televisions and looking for get-rich-quick schemes. Preparation In November 1983, Larson first saw Press Your Luck and its record-breaking cash prizes. Fascinated, he bought a videocassette recorder (VCR), spent weeks analyzing the Big Board, and came to two conclusions. Firstly, the lights actually moved in five different predetermined patterns, and not randomly as advertised. Secondly, Larson never once saw a Whammy in squares four and eight. With these facts, Larson spent the next few months honing his skill at the game, using the VCR pause button to practice his timing. Larson spent the last of his money flying from Ohio to Hollywood in May 1984, and auditioned for Press Your Luck. Hyping himself as an appealing contestant, he told interviewers about being unemployed, his bus ride to Hollywood out of love for the show, being unable to afford a birthday gift for his six-year-old daughter, and buying his dress shirt at a thrift store down the street for $0.65 (equivalent to $1.91 in 2023). Bill Carruthers, the show's executive producer, was impressed by Larson and won over by his charisma; contestant coordinator Bob Edwards would not recommend Larson, but because he could not articulate why, Carruthers overruled the decision. Episode Larson's episode of Press Your Luck was recorded on May 19, 1984. With production code number 0188, the episode was produced by Bill Mitchell and executively produced by Bill Carruthers. Larson was seated at the center lectern. To his right was returning-champion Ed Long from California, a baptist minister; to his left was dental assistant Janie Litras. In the first question round, Larson earned three spins. He stopped his first spin on square 17, which revealed a Whammy, but also allowed him to calibrate the timing of his button presses. His next two spins landed on square four, giving Larson the lowest first-half total of $2,500 (equivalent to $7,332 in 2023). Second half In the second half of the show, the Big Board was reorganized and placed extra spins in the safe squares of four and eight. In the question round, Larson earned seven initial spins of the Big Board, and his last-place position earned him the first spin. In his first 15 spins, Larson occasionally missed his safe squares, but was successful in avoiding Whammies, earning cash and prizes of $29,351 (equivalent to $86,079 in 2023). Beginning with spin 16, he then landed only on squares four and eight for 29 consecutive spins totaling US$102,851 (equivalent to $301,635 in 2023) in cash and prizes. After this 44th overall spin, Larson was losing his focus. On spin 45, Larson missed the extra-spin squares: "I remember that moment. I was just so drained, […] I suddenly forgot where the whammies were. So I stopped and passed control of the board to the other players. I felt so relieved that it was over." Ed Long received Larson's remaining spins and hit a Whammy on his first. When the show's control-booth operators realized what Larson was doing, they called Michael Brockman, CBS' head of daytime programming. Brockman later told TV Guide, "Something was very wrong […] Here was this guy from nowhere, and he was hitting the bonus box every time. It was bedlam, I can tell you." Press Your Luck producers wanted to stop the show, but without any apparent rule-breaking by Larson, they were forced to allow it to continue. When Litras' turn came around, she passed her last three spins to Larson, who was obligated by the rules to use them. Larson stopped the first two spins in squares four and eight, but he stopped the third too early and it landed on square 17. Instead of the Whammy again, though, it was a trip to The Bahamas. That ended the game, and after 47 spins of the Big Board, Michael Larson had won cash and prizes (including a sailboat and all-inclusive vacations to Kauai and The Bahamas) totaling $110,237 (equivalent to $323,296 in 2023). Ed Long still received his $11,516 (equivalent to $33,773 in 2023) from the previous episode, while Janie Lit.... Discover the Paul Larson popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Paul Larson books.