In 1984, down-on-his-luck ice cream truck driver Michael Larson slips into an audition for the
game show Press Your Luck when another contestant is late for his appointment. Larson explains his background to the interviewers, contestant coordinator Chuck and executive producer
Bill Carruthers, but is removed from the office when the real contestant arrives. Carruthers, however, likes Larson's potential as an
underdog and books him on the next day's taping. The next day, Larson is slated to compete against returning champion Ed, a minister, and fellow challenger Janie, a dental assistant. He struggles early with providing correct answers to the trivia questions posed by host
Peter Tomarken, but manages to gain spins on the show's gameboard, where he collects some winnings before spinning and landing on a Whammy, reducing his score to $0. As the last-place player, Larson plays first in the second round and soon passes $16,000 by continually spinning squares that award him both money and additional spins. Carruthers and his staff become increasingly suspicious as Larson keeps amassing money and continuing to play in defiance of the odds. Chuck, searching for evidence Larson may be cheating, breaks into his ice cream truck, where he finds Larson's collection of
driver's licenses,
license plates, and
videotapes. When he views the videotapes, which initially appear to be home movies, Chuck discovers Larson's extensive recording of past
Press Your Luck episodes. With this knowledge, Chuck notices Larson's eyes carefully following the path of the light around the board and that Larson calculates the results of his spins so quickly it seems he already knows what he will spin, leading Chuck to realize Larson has memorized the five patterns the seemingly random gameboard uses. Desperate to stop Larson, Carruthers and the others attempt to break his concentration through increasingly intrusive means. Eventually, however, they realize that Larson's success can be used to promote the show and decide to allow him to win. At over $109,000 and with only one spin left, Larson is caught by surprise when his estranged wife Patricia, whom he had tried to call several times during breaks in the taping, is brought into a phone call to the show orchestrated by Chuck. When Patricia asks Larson to sign their
divorce papers and hangs up, he suffers an emotional breakdown, flees the set, and locks himself in a dressing room. Ed, feeling sympathy for Larson, tries to speak with him until Carruthers arrives. Carruthers tells Larson that he knows Larson memorized the patterns, but adds that he is becoming a star and will be beloved by the audience once he completes his victory. Larson, reassured, returns to the set, where the audience has begun chanting for him. As the game resumes, Larson chooses to pass his remaining spin to Ed in defiance of Carruthers' expectations, earning a
standing ovation from the crowd. Ed hits a Whammy, losing all of his winnings, and Janie takes several spins before passing one final spin back to Larson. Tired and unable to see his patterns anymore, Larson closes his eyes and hits the button to stop the board. Several weeks later, Patricia watches the broadcast of Larson's appearance; he survived his final spin by landing on a prize and ultimately won cash and prizes totaling $110,237. Per Larson's agreement with Carruthers, his accomplishment earns him the title of "Luckiest Man in America." ==Cast==