Press Your Luck and Michael Larson, Analog Hero

Beating the System is much more difficult in the Digital Age

I just heard this incredible story about Michael Larson, a self described unemployed ice cream truck driver, who in 1984 cracked the patterns of the famous game show Press Your Luck. I remember fondly watching Press Your Luck, which everyone remembers because of the mischievous, animated whammies. The show was a good mix of trivia (you answered questions to earn spins), gambling (whether to spin or pass), animation (the whammy would “take” your money in various, devious ways when you landed on one), and seemingly insane contestants screaming things like "Big Bucks, No Whammies!" and "Whammy you can drop dead."

Of the seemingly insane contestants, Michael Larson takes the cake, though. Watch him just a little on this clip and you'll see what I mean:

Despite winning over 100,000$ on the show, Michael Larson invested most of the winnings in a real estate ponzi scheme, leaving him angry, alcoholic, and eventually divorced. Later, he participated in another fraud investment scheme and finally fled into hiding when the Feds took up pursuit. He died at age 50 of throat cancer.

So, why is Michael Larson an Analog Hero? The man went through the painstaking and patient process of recording and watching over 50 episodes of Press Your Luck so he could crack the patterns. He figured out two special squares that, if always stopped on, would yield money and a spin. He memorized the patterns so he could always stop on those squares. And then he executed it on national TV an astonishing 45+ times in a row without a whammy.

The host was practically begging him to stop by the time he reached $30,000 and broke the previous record. As if mad, Michael pressed on all the way to over 110,000$. In the aftermath, CBS tried to withold the winnings by accusing him of cheating. They finally conceded because there was nothing in the contract prohibiting memorizing the patterns.

So, Michael Larson beat the system. He couldn't exist today, not in the age of digital encryption and algorithms, which would make reading the patterns hard for some computers, much less an unemployed ice cream truck driver. Sure, he blew it all. But he must be lauded for seeing a way out of the nine-to-five grind and going for it. Today, chances for people like him are much slimmer. His kind would be carefully screened out of most game shows looking for likable, attractive, and TV-friendly faces. If he did sneak by screening, the contract would be written differently to give the corporation a way out. Today, high-speed computing and high powered algorithms give unfair advantages to the rich and powerful, while squeezing out us little folks.

Today computational powers go well beyond the brain of this old analog model named Michael Larson. And that’s not even introducing the issue of AI (more to come on that, I promise). We gain so much power and information with the digital revolution, we should at times stop and think about what we lose, too. We've lost Michael Larson and numerous other potential analog heroes. May they rest in peace.