In 1984, an Ohio ice cream truck driver named Michael Larson won over $110,000 on the game show “Press Your Luck.” At the time, his prize was the largest single show payout in the history of television game shows. He had managed to outsmart the show with the aid of his trusty VCR and some old-fashioned hand/eye coordination. Larson had memorized the six different patterns of flashing lights on the game’s prize board, avoiding the show’s deadly Whammies and driving up his winnings higher and higher with each press of the plunger. Finally fatigued after racking up an incredible pile of loot, Larson passed his remaining spins to his fellow contestants and waited out his victory. The show was eventually aired over two consecutive days, but after its original broadcast, was never shown again. Even the USA Network, who had acquired syndication rights to the series, was forbidden from airing those two episodes. Evidence of the scam had been relegated to the dustbin of history… until cable network GSN documented Michael Larson’s story in the excellent”Big Bucks: The Press Your Luck Scandal.” The series was so successful in fact, that GSN has just launched a new series, “Anything to Win.” But before we get into that, take a look at some video of Larson’s remarkable run here.

The new series, “Anything to Win,” chronicles the (in)famous folks who scammed, cheated and conned their way to victory, beginning with the story of Rosie Ruiz, who, in 1980, shocked onlookers of the Boston Marathon by coming out of nowhere to win the women’s leg of the race. It’s a great idea for a series, and we look forward to future episodes, however we were disappointed with the by-the-book execution of the debut. The archival footage and interviews (including Rosie herself) were top-notch, but ultimately the first episode felt too much like an “E! True Hollywood Story” and not enough like “Frontline.” But we’ll give it another shot. Upcoming episodes will chronicle the MIT Blackjack Team, the Pennsylvania Lottery scandal and the rise and fall of John DeLorean amongst other topics. You can see the full list of shows on the website. And you can get more info on Rosie Ruiz here and on Michael Larson here.

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