"The Luckiest Man in America" Trailer: Paul Walter Hauser Cracks the Code in This Wild True-Story Game Show Thriller

Paul Walter Hauser plays Michael Larson, the man who outsmarted Press Your Luck and won big—until it all came crashing down. Walton Goggins, David Strathairn, and Maisie Williams co-star.

The draw of watching an exciting game show isn’t necessarily about how much a contestant can win in any one moment—it’s about how long they can keep winning before crapping out. When a contestant is on a roll, there’s an inherent drama and anticipation with each round. The stakes get higher, the tension builds, and the audience can’t help but hold their breath, waiting to see if the streak continues or comes crashing down.

That’s why game shows are reliable ratings magnets. There’s no better drama on TV than watching a contestant risk it all for a shot at life-changing riches—especially when that contestant just can’t seem to lose, no matter how much they “press their luck.”

But here’s the real question: what if it wasn’t luck at all? What if a contestant somehow managed to tilt the odds in their favor? What if someone cracked the system—by studying and dissecting the game itself—using skill, strategy, and a little bit of nerve to keep their streak alive and walk away with a massive fortune?

That’s not just a wild what if scenario—it actually happened. And now, a new film is set to explore the incredible true story of one of the most legendary and controversial game show runs in television history. A contestant who was labeled “The Luckiest Man in America”—but in reality, he was simply someone who gamed the system and found himself on a record-breaking win streak on the 1980s game show Press Your Luck.

In this new biographical thriller, Paul Walter Hauser—who has continued to impress us since his breakout performances in the true-crime biopics I, Tonya and Richard Jewell—takes on the lead role of Michael Larson, a real-life contestant on Press Your Luck. Larson, an unemployed ice cream truck driver from Ohio, was a devoted fan of the game show. Through repeated viewings, he discovered a pattern in the game board’s blinking light sequences, allowing him to predict when and where to stop the buzzer to win cash prizes.

Directed by indie filmmaker Samir Oliveros (Bad Lucky Goat), the film follows the behind-the-scenes chaos as game show producers and network executives realize something might be happening, suspecting that cheating may be involved. Their failure to properly vet Michael Larson before allowing him to compete proves to be a costly mistake. But as Larson's winning streak continues, they realize something is indeed amiss—yet they may not have the power to stop it, setting the stage for one of the greatest game show scandals in history.

Joining Paul Walter Hauser in the cast is an impressive lineup, including Walton Goggins as Press Your Luck host Peter Tomarken and David Strathairn as the show’s co-creator and producer Bill Carruthers. Also starring are Shamier Anderson, Maisie Williams, Patti Harrison, Brian Geraghty, Haley Bennett, Johnny Knoxville, and David Rysdahl.

Director Samir Oliveros co-wrote the screenplay with Maggie Briggs, while Amanda Freedman serves as producer.

The Luckiest Man in America will open in theaters on April 4th.

Here’s the film’s official synopsis:

Based on a true story, The Luckiest Man in America is set in May 1984, when an unemployed ice cream truck driver from Ohio (Paul Walter Hauser) steps onto the game show Press Your Luck harboring a big secret: the key to endless amounts of money. His winning streak is threatened when the bewildered executives in the control room start to uncover his real motivations.

Catch this Inside Edition segment about the real life story behind the film: