WEBVTT - Presenting... American Criminal: The Great McDonald's Monopoly Heist 0:00:15.410 --> 0:00:15.890 Pushkin. 0:00:22.770 --> 0:00:26.290 In nineteen eighty seven, McDonald's teamed up with the Game 0:00:26.370 --> 0:00:31.450 of Monopoly to launch a hugely successful marketing campaign by 0:00:31.490 --> 0:00:34.250 a big Mac or a large frize, and you could 0:00:34.290 --> 0:00:37.530 win a prize ranging from a free ice cream all 0:00:37.570 --> 0:00:42.090 the way to a million dollars. There was just one problem, 0:00:42.570 --> 0:00:46.250 the game was rigged. This story comes to you from 0:00:46.290 --> 0:00:50.810 the true crime and history podcast American Criminal, where host 0:00:50.970 --> 0:00:55.130 Jeremy Schwartz explores the dark side of the American dream. 0:00:55.850 --> 0:00:56.170 Enjoy. 0:01:05.210 --> 0:01:10.130 It's nineteen ninety seven and Charleston, South Carolina. Gloria Brown's 0:01:10.170 --> 0:01:13.210 in the kitchen cooking dinner with her friend Robin Columbu. 0:01:14.290 --> 0:01:18.010 Gloria is enjoying spending time with Robin. The two have 0:01:18.130 --> 0:01:20.610 known each other for a few years, but Robin moved 0:01:20.650 --> 0:01:24.010 away from Florida a little while back and Gloria's missed 0:01:24.010 --> 0:01:26.970 the company. So when Robin called to invite her to 0:01:27.050 --> 0:01:30.810 visit for the weekend, Gloria was all for it. It's 0:01:30.810 --> 0:01:34.770 been a strange trip, though, Gloria was hoping to catch 0:01:34.850 --> 0:01:38.010 up with Robin one on one. She's been going through 0:01:38.010 --> 0:01:40.130 a hard time lately and it would be nice to 0:01:40.170 --> 0:01:42.730 be able to vent a little to her friend, but 0:01:42.930 --> 0:01:47.010 Robin's husband, Jerry, is just always around, which is making 0:01:47.050 --> 0:01:50.650 it hard for Gloria to really open up. She doesn't 0:01:50.730 --> 0:01:53.250 know this guy, and while he's got a certain charm 0:01:53.370 --> 0:01:56.210 to him, it feels like an act to Gloria, like 0:01:56.610 --> 0:02:02.010 maybe he's hiding his real personality beneath the surface. So 0:02:02.290 --> 0:02:05.050 as she and Robin finished preparing the meal and bring 0:02:05.090 --> 0:02:09.050 the dishes to the table, Gloria can't help feeling relieved. 0:02:09.370 --> 0:02:13.330 She's going home tomorrow. Sure, all of her financial troubles 0:02:13.330 --> 0:02:15.370 will be waiting for her, but at least she'll be 0:02:15.450 --> 0:02:19.330 free of Jerry. The trio raised their glasses in a 0:02:19.410 --> 0:02:22.930 quick toast, and then before Gloria has finished her first 0:02:22.930 --> 0:02:26.770 bite of food, Robin fixes her with an intense look 0:02:26.890 --> 0:02:29.570 and says she needs to talk to her about something. 0:02:30.330 --> 0:02:33.530 Neither she or Jerry have touched their plates yet, so 0:02:33.650 --> 0:02:37.370 Gloria senses this is important, like maybe it's the whole 0:02:37.450 --> 0:02:41.450 reason she was invited here in the first place. Trying 0:02:41.450 --> 0:02:46.090 to sound casual, she says she's all ears. That's when 0:02:46.170 --> 0:02:52.970 Robin starts talking about McDonald's, specifically their famous monopoly promotional game, 0:02:53.370 --> 0:02:56.410 the one that's been running for as long as Gloria 0:02:56.490 --> 0:03:00.770 can remember. She nods along, talking about the prizes she'd 0:03:00.810 --> 0:03:03.370 love to win, mostly just to fill in the quiet, 0:03:03.410 --> 0:03:07.450 while Robin lights a cigarette after taking a drag. Robin 0:03:07.490 --> 0:03:11.690 explains that the whole thing fixed. Those people you see 0:03:11.690 --> 0:03:14.330 on the TVs saying they've won a million dollars, they 0:03:14.370 --> 0:03:17.810 didn't win anything, They were chosen, and you want to 0:03:17.850 --> 0:03:22.370 know who chooses the winners. With a dramatic flourish, Robin 0:03:22.450 --> 0:03:26.530 points to her husband, him he's the one with all 0:03:26.570 --> 0:03:31.010 the power. Gloria's eyes widen as she listens to her 0:03:31.090 --> 0:03:34.610 friend explaining the scheme. How Jerry's been choosing all of 0:03:34.650 --> 0:03:38.730 the million dollar winners for years now. McDonald's does it 0:03:38.810 --> 0:03:41.810 this way to make sure that only good people win 0:03:41.850 --> 0:03:45.450 the money. They don't want anyone with an embarrassing criminal 0:03:45.530 --> 0:03:48.170 history or something like that tied to the company. 0:03:48.650 --> 0:03:50.490 Gloria odds that kind of makes sense. 0:03:51.290 --> 0:03:54.250 Then Robin says that they want Gloria to be the 0:03:54.290 --> 0:03:58.770 next big winner, if she wants that is. Gloria is 0:03:58.770 --> 0:04:02.010 feeling lightheaded. She's not even sure if she believes what 0:04:02.130 --> 0:04:05.610 Robin's just told her, but she really wants to a 0:04:05.690 --> 0:04:09.690 million dollars She can't even picture that much money. She's 0:04:09.730 --> 0:04:12.690 a single mom and making ends meet with just one 0:04:12.770 --> 0:04:17.210 income is tough. Now her friend's just offering her money. 0:04:18.130 --> 0:04:21.330 She gazes across the table, trying to find the words 0:04:21.370 --> 0:04:26.090 to answer Robin's smiling at her, eyes gleaming with excitement, 0:04:26.770 --> 0:04:31.010 But Jerry's smile looks more like a smirk. Makes Gloria 0:04:31.090 --> 0:04:34.450 think there's more to this than Robin's letting on, And 0:04:34.570 --> 0:04:38.970 suddenly she's wondering should she take the money or run 0:04:39.010 --> 0:04:52.490 for her life from airship. I'm Jeremy Schwartz, and this 0:04:52.970 --> 0:05:18.050 is American criminal. In nineteen oh three, amateur inventor and 0:05:18.130 --> 0:05:21.930 political activist Lizzie McGee put the finishing touches on a 0:05:21.970 --> 0:05:24.250 board game she'd come up with as a way to 0:05:24.330 --> 0:05:29.810 demonstrate the inequalities in America's economic system. The game invited 0:05:29.850 --> 0:05:33.210 players to move their tokens around a square board and 0:05:33.250 --> 0:05:35.770 forced them to pay rent every time they landed on 0:05:35.810 --> 0:05:40.250 a property they didn't own. She called it the Landlord's Game, 0:05:40.570 --> 0:05:45.650 and it developed a small but passionate following. Three decades later, 0:05:45.930 --> 0:05:49.690 heater salesman Charles Darrow played Lizzie's game at a dinner 0:05:49.730 --> 0:05:53.170 party with friends and saw it as a potential moneymaker. 0:05:53.650 --> 0:05:57.410 He took the Landlord's game, removed some of the criticisms 0:05:57.450 --> 0:06:03.050 of capitalism, and renamed it Monopoly. When his stolen version 0:06:03.090 --> 0:06:05.930 of the game became a hit, Charles sold the rights 0:06:05.970 --> 0:06:09.410 to Parker Brothers, who paid Lizzie five hundred dollars so 0:06:09.450 --> 0:06:12.930 she wouldn't try to defend her patent. The company also 0:06:13.010 --> 0:06:16.130 gave her a promise in writing to credit her as 0:06:16.170 --> 0:06:20.290 the game's inventor in all future editions. It was a 0:06:20.370 --> 0:06:25.330 promise Parker Brothers never fulfilled, denying Lizzie recognition for inventing 0:06:25.370 --> 0:06:28.170 a game that was becoming a staple in homes around 0:06:28.250 --> 0:06:32.010 the country. And while Lizzie McGhee's role in the creation 0:06:32.130 --> 0:06:36.050 of Monopoly was quietly smudged out, Charles Darrow went on 0:06:36.130 --> 0:06:39.490 to become an incredibly wealthy man who was lauded as 0:06:39.530 --> 0:06:43.010 an early innovator in the world of board games. The 0:06:43.090 --> 0:06:46.050 point I'm trying to make is that life isn't always fair. 0:06:46.850 --> 0:06:51.290 Lizzie did everything right. She created something new and innovative, 0:06:51.370 --> 0:06:54.850 she got a patent to protect her intellectual property. Then 0:06:54.970 --> 0:06:59.010 when someone violated her patent, she negotiated in good faith, 0:06:59.970 --> 0:07:05.290 and she still got screwed. Unfortunately, that's not the only 0:07:05.370 --> 0:07:08.290 time that the game of Monopoly was used to screw 0:07:08.330 --> 0:07:13.570 people out of millions. This is episode one in our 0:07:13.650 --> 0:07:17.170 three part series on the great McDonald's Monopoly heist. 0:07:17.650 --> 0:07:24.170 A man on the inside. 0:07:24.930 --> 0:07:28.570 It's just about lunchtime on May fifteenth, nineteen forty in 0:07:28.730 --> 0:07:33.970 San Bernardino, California. Brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald stand in 0:07:33.970 --> 0:07:37.810 front of their brand new restaurant, a small octagonal hut 0:07:37.810 --> 0:07:41.570 called McDonald's Barbecue. The air is full of the smell 0:07:41.650 --> 0:07:44.650 of slow cooking meats, and the brothers employees are at 0:07:44.650 --> 0:07:49.050 their stations ready to go. This McDonald's join isn't like 0:07:49.090 --> 0:07:53.290 most other restaurants. Aside from a few stools at the counter, 0:07:53.490 --> 0:07:57.570 there's nowhere for customers to sit and eat. Instead, people 0:07:57.610 --> 0:08:00.170 are expected to drive up and place their orders with 0:08:00.290 --> 0:08:03.970 car hops, young women in short skirts and majorrette boots, 0:08:04.210 --> 0:08:08.490 and then eat right there in their cars. Strictly speaking, 0:08:08.650 --> 0:08:10.970 this is not a brand new idea, but it's not 0:08:11.130 --> 0:08:14.890 the norm here in San Bernardino, so Richard and Maurice 0:08:14.890 --> 0:08:19.330 are nervous about how locals will react. Still, they're hopeful 0:08:19.450 --> 0:08:23.010 it'll be a hit. They're determined to make their fortune 0:08:23.050 --> 0:08:26.690 and the restaurant game. Maybe they'll make tens of thousands 0:08:26.690 --> 0:08:30.370 of dollars, they think, even more if they're lucky. Of course, 0:08:30.530 --> 0:08:33.330 these guys got no idea just how big their little 0:08:33.370 --> 0:08:35.050 barbecue join'll get one day. 0:08:35.090 --> 0:08:36.170 Forget thousands. 0:08:36.410 --> 0:08:40.810 The McDonald's name will one day be worth billions, and 0:08:40.890 --> 0:08:44.210 in about fifty years from now, the actions of one 0:08:44.370 --> 0:08:47.170 man will threaten to bring all of it crashing to 0:08:47.290 --> 0:08:53.330 the ground. Eight years after Richard and Maurice McDonald first 0:08:53.330 --> 0:08:56.970 open their drive up restaurant, they shut it down, not 0:08:57.090 --> 0:09:00.330 for good, though. By nineteen forty eight they were making 0:09:00.370 --> 0:09:03.650 three hundred thousand dollars in sales each year, which would 0:09:03.690 --> 0:09:07.850 be around four million with inflation. That's not bad, right, 0:09:09.170 --> 0:09:12.610 brothers think they can do better. They've noticed that some 0:09:12.690 --> 0:09:15.770 of their items have been a lot more popular than others, 0:09:15.850 --> 0:09:19.930 so they want to streamline things, less overhead, more customers, 0:09:19.930 --> 0:09:24.330 more money. When they reopen in December nineteen forty eight, 0:09:24.410 --> 0:09:28.970 they go all in on their real moneymakers, Hamburgers. They 0:09:29.010 --> 0:09:32.330 also replace their car hops with a cashier who takes 0:09:32.450 --> 0:09:36.970 orders at a counter plate. Silverware and dishwashing staff give 0:09:37.010 --> 0:09:40.770 way to paper wrappers and cups, and they replace their 0:09:40.810 --> 0:09:44.810 old kitchen with a new, hyper efficient layout, with staff 0:09:44.890 --> 0:09:47.930 working on an assembly line to churn out burgers as 0:09:48.010 --> 0:09:51.810 fast as possible. That way, customers can get their food 0:09:51.970 --> 0:09:54.770 just seconds after they walk up, then be on their way. 0:09:56.170 --> 0:09:58.570 It's a bold gamble to take a risk on a 0:09:58.610 --> 0:10:03.250 concept that discourages customers from lingering at the restaurant, but 0:10:03.730 --> 0:10:07.010 it's one that takes off, and before long, the McDonald 0:10:07.050 --> 0:10:10.370 brothers have turned their restaurant into a franchise, with the 0:10:10.410 --> 0:10:15.450 second location in California and a third in Arizona. Gradually 0:10:15.650 --> 0:10:18.970 they expand their menu to offer French fries and milkshakes. 0:10:19.850 --> 0:10:23.170 That's what brings Ray Kroc out to California in nineteen 0:10:23.290 --> 0:10:27.490 fifty four. He's a milkshake machine salesman, and he wants 0:10:27.570 --> 0:10:31.290 to know why one restaurant owns eight of his products. 0:10:32.250 --> 0:10:35.370 When Ray pulls up to the McDonald's in San Bernardino, 0:10:35.570 --> 0:10:39.650 he sees people lining up to order trays full of burgers, fries, 0:10:39.970 --> 0:10:44.890 and plenty of milkshakes. The number of customers impresses Ray, sure, 0:10:44.970 --> 0:10:47.410 but more than that, he can't get over the pure 0:10:47.450 --> 0:10:51.130 efficiency of the place how quickly they can churn out 0:10:51.210 --> 0:10:55.850 food for people like the McDonald brothers. Ray's keen to 0:10:55.890 --> 0:10:58.730 make a fortune for himself, and he's pretty sure he's 0:10:58.930 --> 0:11:02.290 just found as golden goose. He sets up a meeting 0:11:02.330 --> 0:11:05.170 with Richard and Maurice and convinces them to let him 0:11:05.170 --> 0:11:09.490 have the franchise rights. From there, he institutes a model 0:11:09.570 --> 0:11:13.370 of hyper efficiency, and every news store the company opens, 0:11:14.130 --> 0:11:16.810 not only will customers be able to buy their food 0:11:16.850 --> 0:11:20.050 and leave with it just moments later, they're guaranteed to 0:11:20.130 --> 0:11:24.410 have the same experience in whichever restaurant they visit. It's 0:11:24.490 --> 0:11:27.450 comfort when you're away from home. It's an easy meal 0:11:27.530 --> 0:11:30.850 when you're short on time. It's a shining example of 0:11:30.930 --> 0:11:36.730 American capitalism. By nineteen sixty, McDonald's restaurants around the country 0:11:36.770 --> 0:11:41.210 are grossing fifty six million dollars annually, and that's only 0:11:41.250 --> 0:11:45.330 the beginning. The company soon expands beyond the US, with 0:11:45.490 --> 0:11:48.530 stores opening in Europe, Asia, and as far away as 0:11:48.570 --> 0:11:52.370 New Zealand. But towards the end of the nineteen seventies, 0:11:52.490 --> 0:11:55.930 McDonald's is looking for ways to make their customers happier. 0:11:56.570 --> 0:12:01.010 In particular, they want the whole experience to become family friendly. 0:12:01.570 --> 0:12:04.410 It's a big shift from thirty years ago when Richard 0:12:04.410 --> 0:12:06.770 and Maurice wanted to get people in and out. 0:12:06.570 --> 0:12:07.890 As fast as possible. 0:12:08.530 --> 0:12:11.970 That kind of efficiency really lends itself to people looking 0:12:12.050 --> 0:12:14.690 for a quick bite on their own, but there's money 0:12:14.730 --> 0:12:18.410 to be made by enticing families to visit the restaurants too. 0:12:19.890 --> 0:12:23.330 In October nineteen seventy seven, the company rolls out a 0:12:23.370 --> 0:12:27.770 marketing scheme to do just that. They're called Happy Meals 0:12:27.930 --> 0:12:30.330 and you probably don't need me to tell you what 0:12:30.370 --> 0:12:33.770 they look like, right, food, drink, small, toy, bright box. 0:12:34.490 --> 0:12:37.210 It's not the first time toys are used to directly 0:12:37.250 --> 0:12:40.050 market to kids, but as sure as a masterclass and 0:12:40.170 --> 0:12:43.930 doing it right, obviously, the Happy Meals are a hit. 0:12:44.170 --> 0:12:48.330 Kids love the toys and with multiple options available, they 0:12:48.370 --> 0:12:50.650 have to come back several times if they want to 0:12:50.690 --> 0:12:52.010 collect the whole set. 0:12:52.490 --> 0:12:54.090 And for the next decade. 0:12:54.170 --> 0:12:57.090 It's one of the best marketing tools McDonald's has, and 0:12:57.210 --> 0:13:01.130 it's arsenal. But pretty soon they'll launch a campaign that'll 0:13:01.170 --> 0:13:05.250 make Happy Meals look like I don't know, child's play. 0:13:07.250 --> 0:13:10.530 With game enough Lee has come to life at McDonald's. 0:13:10.650 --> 0:13:16.290 Winnot Coca Cola, good lellion dollars collected my game pieces 0:13:16.610 --> 0:13:20.610 only instantly, So play Monopoly, do not pass goal, go 0:13:20.810 --> 0:13:22.210 directly to McDonald's. 0:13:23.810 --> 0:13:28.330 In nineteen eighty seven, McDonald's joins forces with another American 0:13:28.650 --> 0:13:33.530 icon for their first Monopoly campaign. McDonald's promises it's customers 0:13:33.650 --> 0:13:36.890 that they can win prizes that range from free burgers 0:13:36.970 --> 0:13:41.330 and sodas to new houses, dream vacations, and even a 0:13:41.410 --> 0:13:44.810 million dollars. All you have to do is collect game 0:13:44.890 --> 0:13:48.770 pieces inspired by the classic board game, complete a set 0:13:48.810 --> 0:13:51.930 of properties, and you win a prize. There are also 0:13:52.170 --> 0:13:55.490 instant win pieces that mostly give out low value items 0:13:55.610 --> 0:13:59.810 like fries and desserts, but there are some instant wins 0:13:59.890 --> 0:14:03.210 for the million bucks, just not a lot. The odds 0:14:03.210 --> 0:14:05.890 of pulling a million dollar winner somewhere in the region 0:14:05.970 --> 0:14:10.170 of one and two hundred and fifty million. People don't 0:14:10.250 --> 0:14:14.250 let the odds stop them. They flock to McDonald's in droves, 0:14:14.410 --> 0:14:17.570 buying the products that come with game pieces, hoping to 0:14:17.730 --> 0:14:21.410 hit the jackpot. The game is a massive success, and 0:14:21.570 --> 0:14:25.490 before it's even over, executives are already talking about bringing 0:14:25.570 --> 0:14:29.490 it back the following year. Now, what's really important to 0:14:29.570 --> 0:14:32.410 know about the whole thing is that McDonald's doesn't actually 0:14:32.490 --> 0:14:36.290 have anything to do with running this monopoly promotion. The 0:14:36.450 --> 0:14:39.970 people behind the scheme are a company called Simon Marketing, 0:14:40.250 --> 0:14:44.250 the same team who helped develop the Happy Meal. McDonald's 0:14:44.490 --> 0:14:48.090 knows Simon can deliver, so they're responsible for everything from 0:14:48.170 --> 0:14:52.970 start to finish. McDonald's contracts them to print the game tokens, 0:14:53.090 --> 0:14:56.450 send them to stores, and carefully disseminate the high value 0:14:56.530 --> 0:15:01.090 pieces across the country. That means that McDonald's corporate has 0:15:01.250 --> 0:15:03.930 no idea where the winners will be when the pieces 0:15:04.010 --> 0:15:09.490 turn out, well, except that McDonald's restaurants they'll definitely be there. 0:15:10.490 --> 0:15:14.290 In nineteen eighty eight, the campaign returns and McDonald sees 0:15:14.330 --> 0:15:18.530 a huge jump in sales during the months that it runs. Sure, 0:15:18.610 --> 0:15:20.930 they have to pay out millions in prizes, but the 0:15:21.050 --> 0:15:25.690 increased profits more than cover the expense. If customers want 0:15:25.770 --> 0:15:28.090 more tokens, they can buy more products. 0:15:28.890 --> 0:15:32.410 It's almost like gambling, but for legal. 0:15:32.290 --> 0:15:37.450 Reasons, it's not technically gambling. The game creates a feeling 0:15:37.570 --> 0:15:41.850 of excitement around the McDonald's brand, almost fifty years after 0:15:41.970 --> 0:15:45.490 the first barbecue stand open in sand burned Adino. It's 0:15:45.570 --> 0:15:48.810 more crucial than ever, that the company continue finding new 0:15:48.850 --> 0:15:52.050 ways to reinvent itself to stay on the cutting edge 0:15:52.090 --> 0:15:55.850 of the fast food industry. This does that for them 0:15:56.650 --> 0:16:02.570 every year, sometimes multiple times a year. It's not always 0:16:02.770 --> 0:16:07.210 Monopoly theme, but the basic concept stays the same. By products, 0:16:07.370 --> 0:16:11.330 get game pieces, collect set to win, and with every 0:16:11.450 --> 0:16:14.570 new version of the promotion they run ads featuring people 0:16:14.650 --> 0:16:19.810 who won prizes the last time, cars, vacations, jet skis, 0:16:20.010 --> 0:16:24.290 cold hard cash. Everyday. People are really winning these things. 0:16:24.370 --> 0:16:27.250 All they had to do was go directly to McDonald's. 0:16:28.850 --> 0:16:32.130 On the surface, it seems like there's no downside to this. 0:16:33.050 --> 0:16:36.210 People can go get a burger, some fries, maybe have 0:16:36.370 --> 0:16:39.010 a fun meal out with their family, maybe win a 0:16:39.090 --> 0:16:42.610 camcorder in new TV, and in the back of their 0:16:42.730 --> 0:16:46.330 mind there's that exciting thought that they might just be 0:16:46.570 --> 0:16:49.370 one of the lucky ones to find that million dollar 0:16:49.530 --> 0:16:52.890 game piece. For the first couple of years, the game 0:16:53.010 --> 0:16:56.730 runs exactly as planned. Everyone's got the same one to 0:16:56.810 --> 0:17:00.210 two hundred and fifty million chance of becoming an instant millionaire. 0:17:00.970 --> 0:17:04.010 But in nineteen eighty nine, one man will find a 0:17:04.050 --> 0:17:07.850 way to corrupt this incredibly popular game. He'll take it 0:17:07.970 --> 0:17:10.410 upon himself to say, see that no one in America 0:17:10.530 --> 0:17:29.690 will genuinely win those million dollar prizes ever again. It's 0:17:29.770 --> 0:17:34.250 the spring of nineteen eighty in Hollywood, Florida. Jerome Jacobson 0:17:34.370 --> 0:17:38.450 lies in the hospital bed, frustrated, kind of scared. A 0:17:38.530 --> 0:17:41.810 few days ago, thirty seven year old Jerry collapsed with 0:17:41.930 --> 0:17:46.250 a terrifying paralysis that affected his legs, arms, eyes, and 0:17:46.370 --> 0:17:50.890 respiratory system. His wife Marcia rushed him to the emergency room, 0:17:51.250 --> 0:17:53.890 and he's been stuck in a bed ever since, waiting 0:17:54.090 --> 0:17:58.930 for answers. Since he's arrived, he's slowly regaining the feeling 0:17:59.010 --> 0:18:01.450 in his limbs and his vision is coming back, but 0:18:01.570 --> 0:18:04.850 he's ready for this nightmare to be over. Beside him, 0:18:05.050 --> 0:18:07.730 Marcia asked Jerry if he wants another sip of water. 0:18:08.410 --> 0:18:11.130 He shakes his head head he doesn't want a drink, 0:18:11.730 --> 0:18:15.970 He just wants answers. Just then, as if responding to 0:18:16.050 --> 0:18:19.090 his prayers, a doctor walks into the room and announces 0:18:19.210 --> 0:18:23.210 that they finally got results back on their tests. Jerry 0:18:23.330 --> 0:18:26.130 shuffles in the bed, trying to sit up a little straighter, 0:18:26.250 --> 0:18:30.050 but he can't even manage that. Resigned to his discomfort, 0:18:30.250 --> 0:18:34.210 he tells the doctor he's ready to hear the worst. Slowly, 0:18:34.530 --> 0:18:38.490 she explains that he has Giambret syndrome, which means his 0:18:38.610 --> 0:18:43.490 body's immune system is attacking his nerves. It's a rare 0:18:43.570 --> 0:18:46.730 condition and there's no known cure, but it's possible to 0:18:46.810 --> 0:18:51.730 make a recovery with careful treatment and rehabilitation. Still, it'll 0:18:51.770 --> 0:18:54.370 be a tough road ahead, and Jerry's life will probably 0:18:54.450 --> 0:18:57.530 look different from now on. He might live with muscle 0:18:57.570 --> 0:19:00.210 weakness for a number of years, and he'll need plenty 0:19:00.290 --> 0:19:01.810 of support from his loved ones. 0:19:02.890 --> 0:19:05.650 Jerry's mind is reeling as he takes all of this in. 0:19:05.930 --> 0:19:08.690 He hates feeling like he's dependent on other people, like 0:19:08.770 --> 0:19:12.290 he's a All his life, he's just wanted to feel 0:19:12.370 --> 0:19:16.050 like he's in control, that he has true agency over himself. 0:19:16.930 --> 0:19:19.930 Now it sounds like he might never have that again. 0:19:21.810 --> 0:19:26.050 Jerry Jacobson was born in Youngstown, Ohio, in nineteen forty three, 0:19:26.250 --> 0:19:29.730 and he had a pretty unremarkable childhood. He grew up 0:19:29.770 --> 0:19:32.650 with a step brother, Marvin, who always seemed to get 0:19:32.690 --> 0:19:37.650 more than Jerry, more favors, more affection, more opportunities, but 0:19:37.770 --> 0:19:40.690 he tried not to let that get to him. One day, 0:19:41.010 --> 0:19:44.410 he'd leave all that behind. He had big dreams of 0:19:44.530 --> 0:19:47.490 getting a job that gave him plenty of authority and respect, 0:19:47.810 --> 0:19:51.010 and in his early twenties he enlisted with the Marines. 0:19:52.210 --> 0:19:55.530 Unfortunately for Jerry, his time in the armed forces was 0:19:55.650 --> 0:19:56.290 short lived. 0:19:57.090 --> 0:19:59.450 His heart was in it, but his body wasn't. 0:20:00.090 --> 0:20:03.610 He was discharged during basic training thanks to his high 0:20:03.770 --> 0:20:08.290 arches and persistent allergies he'd had all his life. It 0:20:08.410 --> 0:20:10.850 was devast for him to be told that he would 0:20:10.930 --> 0:20:13.610 never do a job he'd been dreaming about for years, 0:20:14.410 --> 0:20:18.010 but he didn't dwell in his misery for long. In 0:20:18.170 --> 0:20:22.050 nineteen seventy six, he pivoted enlisting as a police officer 0:20:22.130 --> 0:20:25.450 in Hollywood, Florida. It might not have felt quite as 0:20:25.530 --> 0:20:28.370 prestigious as the Marines, but it was a job that 0:20:28.490 --> 0:20:31.450 came with built in authority in a less physically rigorous 0:20:31.450 --> 0:20:35.730 screening process, and for a little while, things seemed to 0:20:35.810 --> 0:20:38.850 be going well for Jerry. Then, about a year after 0:20:38.970 --> 0:20:41.850 he was sworn onto the force, he injured his wrist 0:20:41.970 --> 0:20:44.890 on the job. It was so bad that he had 0:20:44.930 --> 0:20:48.690 to take extended medical leave. While he was still off work. 0:20:48.770 --> 0:20:53.210 In nineteen eighty, he started experiencing extreme pain in one 0:20:53.250 --> 0:20:56.810 of his hands, which soon developed into a creeping numbness 0:20:57.010 --> 0:21:00.490 and eventually the paralysis that landed him in the hospital. 0:21:01.410 --> 0:21:05.050 The diagnosis of Giamboret's syndrome is just one more blow 0:21:05.170 --> 0:21:08.970 that Jerry really doesn't need. He was already feeling pretty you, 0:21:09.570 --> 0:21:12.130 not being able to work, and now his wife will 0:21:12.170 --> 0:21:14.690 also have to take time away from her job on 0:21:14.770 --> 0:21:18.930 the force to care for him. After he's discharged from 0:21:18.970 --> 0:21:22.370 the hospital, Jerry goes home, where Marcia has to bathe 0:21:22.450 --> 0:21:25.330 and feed him every day and give the massages to 0:21:25.410 --> 0:21:29.810 help his recovery. But although she obviously loves her husband deeply, 0:21:30.010 --> 0:21:33.450 she doesn't let him wallow. She says he can have 0:21:33.610 --> 0:21:36.930 fifteen minutes to feel sorry for himself each morning, but 0:21:37.170 --> 0:21:40.730 then he has to get on with his life. Misery's 0:21:40.930 --> 0:21:45.570 no good here. With Marcia's support, Jerry shows clear signs 0:21:45.610 --> 0:21:48.690 of improvement, but it's obvious that he'll never be able 0:21:48.770 --> 0:21:52.410 to rejoin the police force. In nineteen eighty one, the 0:21:52.530 --> 0:21:55.690 Hollywood PD let him go, meaning that he's got to 0:21:55.770 --> 0:22:00.530 start over once again. After that, Jerry and Marcia decide 0:22:00.570 --> 0:22:03.690 that Florida has brought them enough bad luck for one lifetime, 0:22:03.810 --> 0:22:07.890 so they moved north to Atlanta, Georgia. By now, Jerry's 0:22:07.970 --> 0:22:10.810 recovered enough that he picks up some work as a mechanic, 0:22:11.610 --> 0:22:15.290 but Marsha's still the breadwinner. She leaves her police job 0:22:15.410 --> 0:22:18.370 behind to take a position as a security auditor for 0:22:18.490 --> 0:22:23.570 an accounting firm. Now, her new employers could assigned Marsha 0:22:23.690 --> 0:22:26.290 to any of their clients, but they just so happen 0:22:26.330 --> 0:22:29.450 to place her with the Dittler Brothers, a printing company. 0:22:30.130 --> 0:22:32.850 This sounds kind of dull, right, a printing company. 0:22:33.690 --> 0:22:36.290 Well, what if I told you that Dittler had built 0:22:36.330 --> 0:22:41.130 its reputation by printing things like scratch offs, lottery tickets, 0:22:41.290 --> 0:22:45.970 and promotional games for other companies. Huh, that suddenly seems 0:22:46.050 --> 0:22:50.410 more interesting. It's certainly a job that Marsha enjoys, and 0:22:50.690 --> 0:22:53.930 it's something she thinks Jerry is well suited to as well, 0:22:54.770 --> 0:22:57.330 so she recommends him for a role at the company, 0:22:58.010 --> 0:23:02.890 and soon husband and wife are working side by side. Unfortunately, 0:23:03.210 --> 0:23:06.330 the Jacobsons are not a couple who should be. 0:23:06.370 --> 0:23:07.930 Working so closely together. 0:23:08.530 --> 0:23:11.770 They get into a lot of little arguments on the job, 0:23:12.130 --> 0:23:15.770 which spill over into blow ups at home. By nineteen 0:23:15.850 --> 0:23:20.370 eighty three, they're divorced but still working together and like 0:23:20.490 --> 0:23:24.530 a X. Jerry takes his job with Dittler Brothers very seriously. 0:23:25.290 --> 0:23:27.890 He likes the respect to gives him the feeling of 0:23:28.010 --> 0:23:31.170 control he has keeping a handle on the firm's production 0:23:31.330 --> 0:23:35.410 of high value pieces of paper. In nineteen eighty seven, 0:23:35.730 --> 0:23:39.890 Dittler are contracted by Simon Marketing to create and distribute 0:23:40.010 --> 0:23:43.490 all of the game pieces for the new McDonald's marketing campaign. 0:23:44.210 --> 0:23:47.210 At this stage, Jerry's been with the company for around 0:23:47.330 --> 0:23:50.530 six years and is pretty high in their security team, 0:23:50.850 --> 0:23:54.090 so he's given the job of overseeing everything related to 0:23:54.210 --> 0:23:55.330 the monopoly promotion. 0:23:56.050 --> 0:23:57.610 It's a gig he loves. 0:23:58.090 --> 0:24:01.890 Being responsible for the integrity of this high profile partnership 0:24:02.050 --> 0:24:08.050 is exhilarating, and he's determined to impress Among the Dittler employees. 0:24:08.410 --> 0:24:11.250 Jerry gets a reputation for being a real pain in 0:24:11.330 --> 0:24:14.610 the ass with this monopoly thing. He starts checking people's 0:24:14.650 --> 0:24:17.890 shoes to make sure no one's smuggling game pieces out 0:24:17.930 --> 0:24:21.490 of the factory. He also institutes a rule that employees 0:24:21.530 --> 0:24:24.450 who transport the pieces aren't even allowed to use the 0:24:24.570 --> 0:24:28.650 bathroom alone. There will be no corrupting this game, not 0:24:28.850 --> 0:24:32.930 on his watch. Of course, making sure that hundreds of 0:24:33.050 --> 0:24:36.690 millions of game pieces remained under Dittler's control is only 0:24:36.810 --> 0:24:40.370 part of the job. The most important aspect, though, is 0:24:40.490 --> 0:24:44.170 taking care of the winning tokens, the rare property titles 0:24:44.250 --> 0:24:46.970 the customers will need to complete the set, and the 0:24:47.050 --> 0:24:50.970 big ticket instant wins. Those get an extra level of 0:24:51.050 --> 0:24:55.930 attention for starters. They're each printed using black lighting and 0:24:56.210 --> 0:24:59.690 feature tiny flaws in the text, a corner missing from 0:24:59.730 --> 0:25:02.810 the crossbar of the letter T, or a slightly crooked 0:25:02.890 --> 0:25:07.530 punctuation mark. That way, they'll be almost impossible to counterfeit. 0:25:08.570 --> 0:25:12.130 Once the winning pieces come off the printer, Jerry locks 0:25:12.210 --> 0:25:14.970 them away in a vault with multiple layers of security 0:25:15.090 --> 0:25:19.730 until the time comes for the prize draw. Now year's 0:25:19.770 --> 0:25:23.330 where things get more complicated. Before the start of each 0:25:23.450 --> 0:25:27.890 Monopoly campaign, a computer program is used to determine where 0:25:28.010 --> 0:25:31.250 the high value pieces will be sent. In other words, 0:25:31.450 --> 0:25:35.130 the winning tokens aren't just inserted at random into packets 0:25:35.170 --> 0:25:37.970 of other game pieces and then sent out into the world. 0:25:38.610 --> 0:25:42.730 What happens is this program will randomly select the location 0:25:43.050 --> 0:25:46.970 of another printing shop that makes McDonald's packaging, and that's 0:25:47.010 --> 0:25:50.810 where the pieces will be sent so in theory, Simon 0:25:50.930 --> 0:25:54.570 Marketing and Dittler Brothers will know what areas winners will 0:25:54.610 --> 0:25:57.650 come from ahead of time because they're the ones bringing 0:25:57.730 --> 0:26:01.770 the pieces there, and because these game pieces are so valuable, 0:26:02.130 --> 0:26:04.770 Jerry doesn't trust just anyone to bring them to their 0:26:04.810 --> 0:26:08.730 final destination. No, no, it's a job you only trust 0:26:08.850 --> 0:26:13.810 one person with himself. So when it's time to send 0:26:13.850 --> 0:26:16.770 the pieces out into the wild, Jerry and an independent 0:26:16.850 --> 0:26:19.530 auditor insert a winner into an envelope with a bunch 0:26:19.570 --> 0:26:23.690 of regular game pieces. The envelope is then sealed using 0:26:23.770 --> 0:26:28.490 a tamper proof holographic sticker. If anyone opens the envelope, 0:26:28.530 --> 0:26:31.810