Michael Larson, Game Show Legend

The name Ken Jennings has become somewhat famous. Ken won over $3,000,000 during a 74-episode reign as defending champion on Jeopardy. Where champions were long held to five-day reigns, Ken was able to soar as a celebrity because of a 2003 rule change which eliminated the restriction.

But long before Ken Jennings, another sharp fellow noticed something not quite random about randomness on a CBS game show called Press Your Luck.

Michael Larson, an unemployed ice cream truck driver from Ohio, loved the show. He loved it so much that he never missed an episode. In his case, familiarity bred wisdom. He noticed that the “random” patterns generated to make the lights flash around the board weren't so random after all.

This man did nothing illegal, unethical, or immoral. What he did do was pay close attention to a show that he loved, and figured out its secret.

Michael borrowed some money and flew to LA to try out for the show. He made it, despite some misgivings about his personality by the execs in charge of selecting contestants.

He had a fifty-cent thrift store shirt on his back when he went to work.

What followed was an astounding moment in game show history. Its complete story is the subject of today's FamilyFirst pick. I think you'll find the story as compelling as I did.

http://gscentral.net/larsen.htm

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