Whoever buzzed first and answered correctly earned three “spins” on the “Big Board,” the prized centerpiece of the game show: Each episode began with the show’s host, Peter Tomarken, asking the three contestants a series of multiple choice questions.
The brainchild of two veteran television producers, it was billed as the most “technologically advanced” program of its kind utilizing cutting-edge audio-visual equipment, it tempted viewers and contestants with enticingly large payouts.Īs far as rules and structure go, Press Your Luck was pretty straightforward. In September of 1983, a flashy new game show called Press Your Luck hit the daytime broadcast on CBS. Press Your Luck: The Titanic of Game Shows What ensued was one of daytime television’s strangest moments - one that exposed the follies of both man and technology. For months, he’d studied the show’s game board, which lit up squares in a supposedly “random” sequence, and found that, in actuality, it was repeating the same 5 patterns over and over again. While CBS executives in the control looked on in horror and disbelief, Larson harbored a secret: he’d cracked the code of Press Your Luck. On May 19, 1984, before a live studio audience for the game show Press Your Luck, a squirrely-looking, gray-bearded 35-year-old named Michael Larson leapt from behind his podium and squealed with joy.įor the contestant, the show’s catchphrase, “Big bucks, big bucks, no Whammies!”, had just come to fruition: in an era where no single contestant ever won more than $40,000 - not even those competing on the ever-popular The Price In Right, or Wheel of Fortune - Larson had earned $110,237 ($253,000 in 2015 dollars).Īnd in achieving this, he’d overcome insurmountable odds…or had he? ~ Michael Brockman, head of the CBS daytime programming department, 1984 Here was this guy from nowhere, and he kept going around the board and hitting the bonus boxes every time.
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