The Press Your Luck Scandal
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TV ClubHouse: Archive: Miscellaneous Shows - 2003 April: The Press Your Luck Scandal

Donut

Sunday, March 16, 2003 - 08:23 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
I wasnt sure where to post this, but it is about a real person...
This is a two hour special on Game Show Network. It repeats tonite at midnite and is really good.
I didnt see "Catch Me If You Can" yet, but I imagine that this is similar.

It's about a guy who figures out how to beat Press Your Luck and get over a hundred thousand dollars back when no one ever won even close to half that..

They do it really well, with Peter Tomarkin , the host, narrating and they bring back the original guests, go back behind the scenes, show the original game, etc.. Its almost like a movie and as is as compelling as an other reality show...i think you guys will find it really watchable TV..

Myjohnhenry

Sunday, March 16, 2003 - 08:30 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
I wish I got the game show network. : ( I liked it when I got it several years ago in the last place I lived. Sounds like that would have been an interesting show.

Misspoufy

Monday, March 17, 2003 - 08:52 am EditMoveDeleteIP
I watched this last night, I thought it was very interesting...of course I watched the two original episodes when they aired. Back then people rarely won $10,000 so for someone to win $100,000 plus was really exciting. The saddest part after figuring a way to beat the system and winning all that money he died broke and alone.

Hippyt

Monday, March 17, 2003 - 09:11 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Dang,I used to watch that show all the time. I don't have game show network anymore either. I loved watching the old,old Price Is Right games.

Frogichik

Monday, March 17, 2003 - 09:54 am EditMoveDeleteIP
How did he beat the system?

Opie

Monday, March 17, 2003 - 10:19 am EditMoveDeleteIP
I didn't watch the whole thing - the narration went out on me. The background music played, but there was no talking. Hope to get to see it on a repeat.

Anyway, the particulars of the story are on Snopes:

http://www.snopes.com/radiotv/tv/whammy.htm

Frogichik

Monday, March 17, 2003 - 10:42 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Thanks Opie!

Hippyt

Monday, March 17, 2003 - 03:18 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Wow,he went through all that money in two years,in 1984????? He must have had fun!

Sherbabe

Monday, March 17, 2003 - 05:42 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
anybody else see a contestant, josh, on a game show called cheaters.........pax tv.

looks just like josh from BB1

Donut

Monday, March 17, 2003 - 05:54 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
to try and answer some of the questions:

the narration did go in and out a coupl of times.. i figured they would have fixed it by the next showing..
I am not sure if he died broke and alone.. they tried to put a bit of a negative spin on the end, but he looked happy when he was being interviewed on 60 minutes shortly before he died, and he had a girlfriend. he may have been having a normal happy life in florida for all we know..(he died of throat cancer in 1999 about 15 years after the show.
He didnt spend it all. He had 40 thousand of it at home and got robbed of it and accused his girlfriend at the time of having something to do with it, so she got pissed, took 5000$ and split..

Ladytex

Monday, March 17, 2003 - 06:03 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
I thought it was pretty wild when they talked about him and his live-in having a lot of the money put into one dollar bills and then trying to win another thirty thousand dollars by playing match the serial numbers ...

Ladytex

Monday, March 17, 2003 - 06:06 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
sorry froggichik, but to try to answer your question...he figured out that the board lights rotated in a pattern and that two squares never had a whammy. he figured out when to hit the stop button to always land on one of those two squares. one of the squares was always the big bucks square

Wilsonatmd

Monday, March 17, 2003 - 06:32 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
and to celebrate this show, they had a special show of the revival of this show currently on Gameshow Network (Whammy!), with Michael Lawson's brother James (Micheal died in 1999) and the two original opponents Michael played in 1984....and Michael's brother ended up winning (he won a $6,695 electronic piano)....

Donut

Monday, March 17, 2003 - 07:25 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
i never even saw a commerical for that show! it will probably repeat..i hope..

btw, i saw the last few minutes of Dirty rotten cheater, and it is possible that it was BB1 Josh. I couldnt tell from the quick glimpse..

oh yeah, and hippy, i loved the old Price shows too.. i loved all the sunday nite black and white shows but they stopped doing them unfortunately.. I loved the show Two For the Money...The host Herb Shriner was great..They all got cigarettes for playing..

Wilsonatmd

Monday, March 17, 2003 - 07:50 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Donut, they still do the black and white shows, but now it's late night, as in 4AM-6AM Eastern...

Donut

Monday, March 17, 2003 - 08:04 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
thanks wilsonatmd!
i gotta tape em sometime.. I have seen it when i have woken up in the middle of the nite..

Bastable

Monday, March 17, 2003 - 09:24 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Wow, thanks, Donut! This is fascinating! I'm so glad you turned me on to it.