Michael Larson
Paul Michael Larson (May 10, 1949 – February 16, 1999) was an American television game show contestant from Ohio who appeared on the CBS program Press Your Luck in 1984. Larson is notable for winning $110,237 ($322,676 in 2023) in cash and prizes, at the time the largest one-day total ever won on a game show. He was able to win by memorizing the patterns used on the Press Your Luck game board.
Michael Larson | |
|---|---|
Larson during his appearance on Press Your Luck in 1984 | |
| Born | Paul Michael Larson May 10, 1949 |
| Died | February 16, 1999 (aged 49) |
| Occupation(s) | Assistant manager Ice cream truck driver Air conditioning mechanic |
| Known for | Game show champion (Press Your Luck) |
| Partner(s) | Teresa McGlynn Dinwitty (1983–1994) 2 previous marriages and divorces |
| Children | 3 |
Larson used his cash winnings to pay taxes and invested most of the rest in bad real estate deals. As a result, he lost all of his winnings within two years of the show's taping. He later fled Ohio while under investigation for fraud. He was found to be living in Florida when he died of throat cancer at the age of 49. Since his death in 1999, Larson's game has re-aired on television at various times and inspired two Game Show Network documentaries: Big Bucks: The Press Your Luck Scandal in 2003 and Cover Story: The Press Your Luck Scandal in 2018.