Haggling and hitting the jackpot
Rick Harrison talks about Pawn Stars, Las Vegas, and the popular new slot machine
By Sean Chaffin
This year, the show achieved a Las Vegas milestone—Bally Technologies has produced a video slot machine based on the show. According to Bally officials, one of the more popular features is the bonus negotiation round—where gamblers bargain with one of these pawnbrokers. The slot has become one of the company’s most popular machines.
It’s featured on a hit show and it’s a hit in Las Vegas—the Gold and Silver Pawn Shop. Located between the Vegas Strip and downtown, this busy shop is the subject of the History Channel’s hit show Pawn Stars, which features regular folks making deals with the store’s owners ranging from collectible guns to rare books to rock ‘n’ roll posters.
Pawn Stars has become a national phenomenon and quite a success story. The premise was pretty simple when the show began. Casino Player spoke with the one of the show’s stars, Rick Harrison, who runs the store along with his son Corey “Big Hoss” Harrison and his father Richard “Old Man” Harrison. The show is simple and offers some unique historical lessons of the antiques, collectibles, and just plain weird items that might make it into the shop.
The show follows the deal making between buyer and seller, and the success of the show certainly hinges on the unique items brought in for sale and the likeability of the Harrison family along with Corey’s childhood friend Austin “Chumlee” Russell, who also works at the shop. The Las Vegas setting certainly adds to the show’s uniqueness and contributes to some of the interesting items that are brought in for sale.
“It’s such a diverse crowd,” he says of the visitors coming to his shop. “And you get a lot of wealthy tourists that go absolutely bat-shit crazy and need cash real quick. They don’t want the party to end. ”
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Pawn Stars debuted in July 2009 and has become the History Channel’s top-rated program. Viewers love the haggling over items offered for sale as well as the good-natured ribbing and interaction among the cast. Like Harrison says in the show’s opening, you never know what’s going to come through that door.
“The weird thing about the Gold and Silver Pawn Shop is that people come on vacation and they bring stuff here to sell,” he says. “They come here to see what we’ll give them for it. Mostly, it’s people from out of town.”
Becoming a television hit has helped the gang become household names. TV Guide has called the show “one part Antiques Roadshow, a pinch of LA Ink and a dash of COPS.” And while documenting the comings and goings of the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop may have been good for the network’s ratings, the show has also been great for business. Before the show hit the air, the shop averaged 50-70 visitors a day. That total now ranges from 5,000 to 7,000 according to staff every day of the week. Of those, 80 percent walk out with store merchandise or some kind of show souvenir or T-shirt. Gold & Silver Pawn has also grown in that time from a handful of employees before the show aired, to more than 60 now. The shop has also undergone four renovations and is now 15,000 square feet.
As a family, the Harrisons are certainly an American success story. The Old Man retired from the U.S. Navy (he served three tours of duty in Vietnam) and then opened a small coin shop in 1981 with a few thousand dollars. As a child, Harrison would spend weekends with his mother selling items at swap meets and flea markets, and at one point lived in a trailer behind his grandparents’ home. While not wealthy, the family always believed in hard work and an entrepreneurial spirit.
The Harrisons opened the shop in 1987, but Rick Harrison had worked in the pawn business for a long time and earned cash working with his hands as a welder and an electrician. The television show was the result of years of hard work and would change the family forever.
An avid reader and student of history, Harrison says the show is not only a hit with the general public, but also to history teachers, kids, and mothers, who frequently compliment Harrison on some of the educational aspects of the show. Customers’ property for sale is not merely a purchase on Pawn Stars, but is also framed in an historical reference.
“They love it. It’s always positive,” he says of his feedback from history teachers and mothers. Harrison takes pride in the educational value of a show about a pawnshop. “I invented my own little genre—laugh and learn TV. It’s fun. I hear it from moms all the time that it’s the only show that the whole family can sit down together and watch. The moms always love it when the kids are learning a little history.”
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Authenticating antiquities, autographs, and other items is no easy task, and a large part of Pawn Stars involves this process. The shop uses a several experts to authenticate or refute the authenticity of items brought in for sale. It is this whole process, along with the guys’ comments on the history of the item and cultural circumstances surrounding it, which intrigues viewers.
For example, on one episode a woman named Erica brought in a framed bass guitar with Paul McCartney’s signature and signatures of the other Beatles, which she somehow obtained at a charity event at the Playboy Mansion. Her goal? Take home $25,000 for a one-of-a-kind piece of rock ‘n’ roll memorabilia. Harrison said if the guitar was legitimately signed and played by McCartney, it could be worth a fortune.
When Harrison’s expert came in to evaluate the guitar, it was discovered to be a phony—as were all the other signatures. The instrument hadn’t been played or signed by Sir Paul and certainly left a sour note with Erica. While this Beatle may have left his mark on rock ‘n’ roll, he didn’t leave his signature on her guitar. While she didn’t get her $25,000, Harrison and his son did offer up a hearty handshake and some humorous advice: “You know what, hang it up on the wall,” Harrison says with his signature machine-gun style laugh. “And tell people it’s real,” Corey adds. Who’s gonna know, right?
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This year, the show achieved a Las Vegas milestone—Bally Technologies has produced a video slot machine based on the show. According to Bally officials, one of the more popular features is the bonus negotiation round—where gamblers bargain with one of these pawnbrokers. The slot has become one of the company’s most popular machines.
“People love it. It’s an extremely popular show and it translates well to a video slot,” says Ball Corporate Communications Manager Mike Trask. “It’s a really fun game, these guys were great to work with.”
As for the guys, seeing their own faces on a slot machine was pretty cool—especially since becoming such a popular Vegas tourist stop.
“It’s absolute greatness. Growing up in Vegas, it’s sort of like a badge of honor,” says Harrison.
However, he has yet to plunk down a buck or two to gamble on his own slot machine.
“It’s sort of weird, I’ve got a slot machine with my name on it and I’m associated with it and everything. What happens if I win?” he says. “What happens if I hit the giant jackpot? Everyone’s going to say I’m full of shit.”
While Harrison may not have played the game, his son’s wife recently deposited twenty bucks and hit a nice win of $1,600.
“So play the Pawn Stars slot machine,” Harrison says with his familiar staccato laugh. “I swear—everyone’s a winner.”
Harrison gambles a little, but not too much—hitting the Red Rock Casino occasionally for some blackjack. He’s not a fan of poker himself, but his father, the “Old Man,” and Chumley are regular players in charity poker tournaments around Vegas. Chumley recently won $5,000 in a charity event.
“Poker’s too goddamn slow for me,” Harrison says. “The whole deal with poker is that you just gotta wait ‘em out. The Old Man, he’ll just wait forever. The guy with the most patience wins, and he’ll sit there all damn day.”
The show recently entered its seventh season, and when it comes to television ratings, business, and even slot machines—Rick and the gang have definitely hit the jackpot.
The seventh season of Pawn Stars can now be seen on the History Channel each Thursday at 9 p.m. (EST)
Sean Chaffin is a freelance writer in Crandall, Texas. His new book is Raising the Stakes: True Tales of Gambling, Wagering & Poker Faces, available at his blog PokerTraditions.com, Amazon.com, and BarnesandNoble.com.
