Michael Larson won $110,237 in cash and prizes on the game show "Press Your Luck" in 1984, the largest prize in game show history at the time.
A scandal that rocked the game show world in the 1980s has been made into a movie.
Michael Larson was 35 years old when he appeared on the game show "Press York Luck" in 1984. In the game, if the light came to a stop on the "Whammy" square, the contestant loses all their winnings. But Larson kept winning.
Larson quickly surpassed $50,000, shocking the show's host, Peter Tomarken.
Michael Brockman was the head of daytime programming for CBS when Larson made his appearance on the show. He says executives were suspicious.
"They knew something was wrong, and something was off. They just didn't know what and there was no way to stop it," Brockman tells Inside Edition.
It turned out that the ice-cream truck driver had watched older episodes of the show and learned that there was a pattern to the flashing lights. He knew exactly when to yell "stop" to keep the prizes rolling in.
Larson ended up with $110,237 in cash and prizes, the largest in game show history at the time.
Janie Dakin was the other contestant that day.
"When Michael kept winning and winning, I thought it was a joke. I thought, 'There's no way they're gonna let him win this much money,'" Dakin tells Inside Edition. "He broke the code."
The movie based on Larson, "The Luckiest Man in America," recently premiered at the Toronto Film Festival. The producers are looking for a U.S. distributor.
