The Most Money Ever Won On 'Press Your Luck'

Publish date: 2024-05-17

Whether or not Larson cheated to win the most money ever on "Press Your Luck" (when adjusted for inflation) is a matter of some debate. What's for certain, as a viewer, Larson noticed a repeated pattern in how the game was played and exploited it. As THR goes on to report, at that time, the cursor on the "Press your Luck” board followed one of six patterns. Larson taught himself how to recognize each, and in doing so, he managed to avoid a "whammy" — not once, not twice, but 45 times in a row, a statistical impossibility.

Michael Brockman, a producer on the show at that time later said the board was programmed with a limited number of patterns as a cost-saving measure. No one knew at that time if the show would be picked up beyond the pilot, and once it was, no one bothered to change it. Larson performed so well and earned so much money without ever landing on a "whammy" that the network took notice and, at first, refused to pay Larson his money. In Brockman's opinion, though, Larson didn't cheat, he simply noticed a fatal flaw in the system and used it to his advantage. Eventually, CBS acquiesced and Larson received his winnings.

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