The movie, which also stars Paul Walter Hauser, Shamier Anderson and Maisie Williams, originally premiered at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival and has now been released in the UK as a Sky Original following a theatrical run in the states earlier this year.
Viewers – especially those in the UK who are less familiar with Press Your Luck – may well be wondering just how much the film is based on true events after watching.
The Luckiest Man in America true story: How accurate is the film?
While Michael Larson really did win record-breaking sums during his appearance on Press Your Luck and this really did lead to a major fallout, the film is a semi-fictionalised telling of the events – and is therefore only a partly accurate account of the true story.
In real life, Larson had spent much of his life attempting a variety of different get-rich-quick schemes – often indulging in somewhat unethical behaviours – and as is shown in the film he had spent a lot of time studying the game, stumbling upon the fact that there was a clear pattern to the apparently randomised game.
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But as he technically hadn't broken any rules, there was no way for them to delegitimise his winnings and he kept every penny.
Where the film differs from reality is in the specifics of Larson's appearance on the show – with several liberties taken around the events exactly as they happened.
For a more accurate retelling of the specifics, viewers may be better suited to checking out one of the documentaries made about the episode – including Big Bucks: The Press Your Luck Scandal and the The Press Your Luck Scandal episode of Cover Story.
View oEmbed on the source websiteWhat happened to Michael Larson after the events of The Luckiest Man in America?
Some of his money was stolen while he was attempting a new scheme to win a radio contest, while much of the remaining cash was squandered when he became involved in a multi-level marketing scheme that went on to be investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission along with the FBI and IRS.
This investigation led to calls for him to be apprehended, which in turn saw Larson flee his home in Ohio to Florida, where he eventually died of throat cancer in 1999.
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