Series Description

The Pawn Stars TV show is a 30 minute reality television series on the History Channel that highlights the outrageous items that people bring in to sell at a huge Las Vegas, Nevada pawn shop. The shop is operated by Rick Harrison who is extremely knowledgeable about just about everything with any value, Rick's father who is a career military veteran, Rick's son Corey, Corey's best friend "Chumlee" and the shop's other staff members. Experts are also brought in to determine the historical details and authenticity of older items. Another interesting aspect of the show is when they purchase a collectible item in terrible condition and then show it after it's been returned to pristine condition. There is also a comedy aspect to the series as the staff joke with each other and give each other and customers a hard time.

Pawn Stars Cast

Rick Kevin Harrison - The Boss & Co-Owner
Richard Benjamin Harrison - Rick's Dad & Co-Owner
Corey Harrison - Rick's Son & Shop Manager
Austin "Chumlee" Russell - Corey's Childhood Friend & Shop Employee
Danielle "Peaches" Pearey - Staff Employee
Fat Back - The Shop's Mechanic

Pawn Stars Trivia

The series was originally going to be called, "Pawning History" but the History Channel insisted on "Pawn Stars" because they felt that name would make the show sound more fun than educational. In reality, the series is both!

Pawn Stars was also originally conceived as a "Taxicab Confessions" type of show designed for a pay cable channel like HBO or Showtime. People would have come into the shop and told why they were selling or pawning their possessions. In a brilliant move the concept was changed to concentrating more on how interesting the items were and their historical signifigance or collectibility.

The name of the shop is the "Gold & Silver Pawn Shop". It's located at the intersection of Las Vegas Boulevard and Gass Avenue just about a mile south of the Las Vegas strip. Just like the rest of the city, the pawn shop is open 24 hours per day!

Rick and his dad (commonly called "The Old Man") opened the shop in 1988 and Corey has worked there since he was a kid. Corey is in training to take over the shop when Rick retires or semi-retires. The Old Man has often said that he will never retire.

When Pawn Stars premiered on July 19, 2009 the shop's business exploded. The shop became Las Vegas' newest tourist attraction! If you visit, be prepared to wait in line outside the shop as there's often a long line to get in!

Another change at the shop is that, due to its fame, there are now touristy items for sale like t-shirts and other items with the shop's logo on them. Many of the items are signed by Chumlee.

TV Guide described Pawn Stars as "One part "Antiques Roadshow", a pinch of "L.A. Ink" and a dash of "COPS".

The comparison to Antiques Roadshow is obvious once you've seen a few episodes. People come in expecting that their items have a certain value and then either find that they are nearly worthless or worth much more than they expected. And the items aren't the boring ones you might expect. Customers have brought in a classic pinball machine, an airplane, an ancient cannon, a hot air balloon, an item made by Paul Revere, a flag that had been on the Moon, a guitar owned by a rock legend, classic cars and many others.