Big Bucks: The Press Your Luck Scandal (2003)*** 1/2 (out of 4) Highly entertaining documentary taking a look at Michael Larson, an out of work ice cream truck driver who made his way from Ohio to Los Angeles where he got on the Press Your Luck game show and ended up walking away with over $110,000. How did Larson do it? For months he studied the game at home and caught a pattern that would allow him to rack up the big bucks without hitting a whammy. To say this is the biggest scandal in game show history might be an understatement. There's certainly something interesting about what Larson did as some are going to call him a genius while others are going to call him a cheat. Personally speaking I can't help but call him a genius and I would never use the word cheat since there was a way to break the board and he found out how to do it. I think most of the blame has to go to the network for not having a plan in case something like this ever happened. The documentary does a very good job at telling the story of how a man from Ohio won a ton of cash from CBS who were pretty much dumbfounded by what was going on. The documentary features host Peter Tomarken talking about what was going on during the taping of the show but we also get interviews with the director, creator and others involved in the show including the two other contestants that Larson was going up against. The film also features the entire episode that was originally aired over two days but was never seen again until this documentary. Fans of the show or just scandals in general will certainly want to check this out as the entire thing is just bizarre to say the least.

When this aired on Game show network and some others gathered with me to see this I could not believe how Peter Tomarkin had become such a sore looser. He was at times insulting Larson. He in some of my friends views was also giving Bob Barker, Regis Philben, Pat Sajak, Vanna White and Alex Trebek bad names because of how he was fussing over a mere 100 thousand dollars being won by one man where at the time this aired in 2003 Bob Barker and the others were giving away prize combinations that would be higher value than what Larson won. Some people that were with me were wanting to see Alex, Pat and Regis come in and slap Peter with a white glove then have Vanna hit him with her purse and have Bob give him a Chuck Norris Karate Kick because of how those who were with me felt that Peter was insulting all those other hosts by fussing over how a man won a mere 100 thousand dollars where all these others were giving away money amounts and prizes that valued over the amount that was won by Larson.

One day I saw an article about Michael Larson, and wondered if he really had done this. Searching for it turned up little if anything. About a month later, I saw this on TV and taped it. I don't know where the tape is, but it is an interesting documentary.It tells how Michael Larson, a self-employed ice-cream truck driver, changed from having almost nothing, ending up with a fortune, and then losing it all in the end.It also provides a look back at how Press Your Luck producers did not realize that the game was fallible. Looking at this documentary, I realized it was very insightful. I do wish Game Show Network (now GSN) would release this as a video/DVD.

Michael Larsen is the stuff game show legends are made of. He cracked the code of Press Your Luck and smoked CBS out of over $110,000. The key was he memorized the board and knew where to land. All he had to know was two spots to land on. Of course, he had a lot of time to memorize it since he was unemployed.The bonus of this documentary was they showed both episodes documenting Michael's run at big bucks and no Whammies. These episodes had not been seen since the original broadcast in 1984. The incident obviously gave CBS a black eye. In between episodes, they analyze the episodes. You could see Michael was in his zone while he spun the big board.The documentary also reunited Michael's opponents and got their point of view. Peter Tomarken is also on hand to provide narration. But it also showed the dark side of a game show contestant. Michael Larsen was a gambler from day one. He wanted that quick buck, and when Press Your Luck came by, he seized the opportunity. For years, we all thought he sunk all of his money into a housing deal gone bad, and lost everything. But as the documentary reveals, much of the money was stolen. He kept much of his money in his house, which made it easy for someone to take it. Larsen continued trying to make the quick buck by getting involved in 'get rich quick' schemes (which of course, never work). He died under a huge cloud of mystery while being investigated by the IRS and SEC.Kudos to the Game Show Network for giving this moment in game show history the attention it deserves.