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"Press your luck" Scandal

4

4dude

http://www.xanfan.com/pressyourluck/larson.htm

This is about a guy who was a contestant on "Press your luck" in the 80's who figured out the pattern of the board and took the show for tons of money.

I havent ever seen this episode or known of this until i saw a thread on another site im on..

Anyone have a link to view this episode?
 
Game Show Network runs this special from time to time otherwise you can find it on Youtube (the actual special that GSN produced has a very crudely recorded video but the actual aired PYL is there and in good quality). I have seen it and it's really a triumph and a tragedy with what Michael Larson was able to accomplish. He took CBS for a ride and there wasn't a thing they could do to stop him.
 
I'd love to have been a fly on the wall (or a bug in the phone lines) in certain executive offices the day that show was taped, as the studio frantically kept the suits informed as to what was happening and wondering what they should do. That would be quite entertaining.
 
Stanislav said:
I'd love to have been a fly on the wall (or a bug in the phone lines) in certain executive offices the day that show was taped, as the studio frantically kept the suits informed as to what was happening and wondering what they should do. That would be quite entertaining.
Click to expand...

It probably would have looked something like the Bolshoi Ballet piece in Bye Bye Birdie where someone slips the conductor a mickey and he drives the music, and dancers, faster and faster. Classic!
 
The episode (which was edited into a 2 parter during the original broadcast) was on GSN during a recent marathon. It might have been during the retrospectives of the various decades special hosted by Caroline Rhea over the winter.

Also, the network had a policy in place at the time for all game shows, putting a cap on winnings, so I think Larson only got away with $25,000 or so.

I saw a rerun of the GSN "Whammy!" remake not too long ago, with Larson's original opponents and Larson's brother playing against them (Michael had passed away). Peter Tomarken (who is also deceased after a plane crash a few years back) made an appearance in that episode as well.
 
adam95 said:
Also, the network had a policy in place at the time for all game shows, putting a cap on winnings, so I think Larson only got away with $25,000 or so.
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CBS's standards and practices was that no one could return to any show after amassing over $25,000 of prize money. Since Press Your Luck had no returning champion system that rule wasn't necessary but they did allow Press Your Luck players to keep all their winnings including anything over $25,000. It was one of the main selling points of the show to get contestants.

In CBS infinite wisdom, they were confident that the game board had enough Whammies to stop a players run dead cold that they would rarely ever have to pay over the $25,000 ceiling every other show was limited to. Until Michael Larsen came around they were right. Since Larsen broke no rules, he was given his total winnings in full (minus taxes of course).
 
Robnoxious said:
Since Larsen broke no rules, he was given his total winnings in full (minus taxes of course).
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Unfortunately, Mr. Larson proved far less adept at managing his money than he was at managing the PYL game board. He lost a big chunk of his winnings in a real estate scheme, later became obsessed with a radio station's dollar bill serial number matching game (withdrawing thousands daily in singles, checking all the serial numbers, then redepositing the cash only to withdraw a new batch of Georges the next day), and ultimately had the balance of his money ($40-50K in bags of singles) stolen from his home. In desperation, he tried to convince the PYL producers and CBS that it would be great publicity for them if they allowed him to return to the show to try to crack the new game board; they politely declined. He died, basically penniless, of cancer in 1999, 15 years after his PYL appearance, at the too young age of 49. A wild story with a sad ending.
 
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