Press Your Luck

Michael Larson, an unemployed ice cream truck driver from Ohio, noticed that the board followed predictable, repeating patterns. He became a contestant and used his knowledge to extend the game for almost twice as long as normal, winning $110,237. The shocked producers decided to broadcast this extended game as a two-part episode on Friday June 8, 1984, concluding on Monday June 11, 1984. The ratings more than doubled. Afterward, the producers increased the number of distinct light patterns and varied their speed to prevent such a thing from happening again.

A complete and unedited version of the Michael Larson episode was screened in the TV special "Big Bucks: The Press Your Luck Scandal".

Featured in The Boy Who Could Fly (1986)