Pawn Stars: Details from behind-the-scenes

Pawn Stars has shed light on the pawn store industry more than any other show or movie. There are a lot of different ways to pawn things off, but these guys made a business out of it. The show, which first aired in July of 2009, has not only hooked people across the nation but has spawned spinoffs in the UK and Australia. The show follows Old Man Harrison, Rick Harrison, Big Hoss Harrison, and Austin “Chumlee” Russell. The Harrison’s are the grandfather, father, and son of the Harrison family, while Chumlee is Big Hoss’ childhood best friend. Pawn Stars takes place in Las Vegas, Nevada, where the family lives and operates its pawn business. The show documents the family’s pawn business and its interaction with clients and all the drama that can ensue from human interaction. While much of the drama is right there for you to see, there are a number of facts that you are sure to have missed that explain a whole lot more of what goes on behind the camera.

They got their own Lynyrd Skynyrd show

As many of you know, the show’s theme song is by Lynyrd Skynyrd (as of season four). What many people do not know is that the main men of the show were treated to a private concert by the artist who flew to Las Vegas to meet the men and pull out their instruments for a surprise show in their pawn shop’s parking lot.

The men were overjoyed and anyone around got in on the action.

They didn’t really fire Olivia Black

Olivia Black worked at the pawn shop during the night shift starting in the fifth season. There were rumors that she was fired from the shop and the show as a result of a very revealing photoshoot that she did for a website. While that may have sounded likely, the truth of the matter is that the network did not have a problem with her modeling and neither did the family for that matter.

The issue had more to do with Olivia herself and choosing to go elsewhere after being on the show for a bit. The edits seem to show it differently.

Pawn Stars dealt with lawsuit

The shop was sued during filming for melting gold coins down. Usually, that in and of itself is not an issue. The issue here was that the woman who traded the coin collection in back in 2014, had in fact stolen the coins from her uncle. Due to the fact that they did not do their due diligence, the men melted down the coins no questions asked.

The uncle ended up coming around claiming that they were his and worth over $50,000 and proceeded to sue to shop and the owners for the amount in question. More research for future trade-ins.

Pawn Plaza’s downfall

The show’s popularity meant that more and more people were flocking to the shop and therefore needed to be accommodated. Rick thought it would be smart to expand their business ventures and open Pawn Plaza, where there were stores and restaurants to attend to the many tourists.

While Pawn Plaza did well initially, the original interest grew less and less and the structure, made mostly of shipping containers, saw four of its businesses close back in 2016. The projections for Pawn Plaza are also not looking too good unless something changes or someone invests in the property.

Rick Harrison loves to read

Rick is one of the most prominent figures on the show. The man’s man is all about his car collection and business duties. What is rather surprising for most people to learn, is that he is a huge bookworm. Rick loves to read and has read literature far beyond a car magazine. Many people find this fact interesting considering it almost goes against the demeanor he presents on the show.

Rick has also contended with people trying to pawn human skulls and 250-year-old inappropriate Japanese imagery; which is a whole different kind of literature that is way more than he bargained for.

Gold & Silver merchandise is everywhere

Interestingly enough, the main earner for the shop these days is their own merchandise. Chumlee’s own designs are particularly best-sellers. You would not normally see the merchandise due to the fact that the camera is usually angled away from the merchandise to make the shop look more legitimate.

However, because fans of the show turn up on a daily basis, the biggest selling points are indeed the pawn shop’s merchandise line. Can’t argue with the facts.

Trades on the show are not what they look like

As is with most reality television shows, the term reality is loosely used as there are times when it is entirely orchestrated. For example, when someone comes into the shop with a rather interesting item to pawn, the show will ask the person to come back in.

They will return at another time in order to give the production more to work with in the editing room, thus making the show a little less real and a little more planned.

There have been a few stolen items that were brought in

We mentioned the coins, but that was not the only time that stolen items had been brought in. Back in 2009, an individual came into the shop to trade in diamond earrings for the amount of $40,000. Not a day later, however, it was discovered that the earrings were stolen and the seller caught and arrested.

The shop is not responsible for stolen goods but they also do not get the funds back after dispersing them.

There’s a reason they eat Subway all the time

There is nothing on the show that happens by accident. Product placement is usually a subtle art but in this case, it is a blatant expression. The guys eat an enormous amount of Subway sandwiches on the show, and that is because they are sponsored by the sandwich giant.

The guys can often be seen eating their sandwiches with the Subway wrapper in full view of the camera for all viewers to see and flock to.

Deanna’s former marriage was a tough one

Rick married the lovely Deanna Burditt back in 2013. For Deanna, this was a second time around. She had been married to a guy named Richard who was found guilty of a not so nice crime.

Richard did not spend any time behind bars, something that Rick finds all too aggravating and is a sensitive subject to this day. Deanna found her happily ever after with Rick and honestly, that is all that matters.

Big Hoss Harrison is an avid biker but not the safest

Corey “Big Hoss” Harrison, Rick’s son, is a huge fan of the motorcycle lifestyle. What is not as discussed on the show is how often Corey got into accidents on his loved bike. There have been many accidents in his past but one in 2014 was scarier than most when Corey was thrown from his motorcycle.

Somehow Corey walked away with minimal injuries (fractured wrist) and a few scratches. It could have ended a whole lot worse.

Rick connected with a fan in the sweetest manner

The show and its stars have a lot of fans thanks to the popularity of the show. Some of these fans are young ones who love the concept of the show. One fan, a young autistic boy named Little J, sent Rick his Gameboy in order to pawn it off for $30.

Rick sent the boy his $30 but also added the Gameboy and a letter personally to him, thanking him and pushing him to keep playing his games.

The stars won’t be behind the shop counter

At the start of the show, the men would be behind the counter working as you would expect them to. However, as the show and its popularity ascended the ratings and popularity scale, the men are no longer found behind the shop’s counter as they are more easily found in the merchandise area of the show.

You will find them signing autographs and taking photos with avid fans of the show. This was to be expected but somehow a little disappointing.

The shop was televised once before

Pawn Stars was what made this shop famous, and the men that run it, but it is not the first time that they were on television. Back in 2001, the shop was the focus of a PBS documentary about the pawn business. Another instance was a few years later when Dave Attell came to the shop to film a piece for Insomniac, the show he was on.

It wasn’t until 2009 that the guys and their shop got their own independent limelight.

There are ancient artifacts in the shop

There are many valuable items at the pawn shop, but the oldest and rarest is a coin, called a didrachm, dating back to 325 B.C. from ancient Greece. That amount of history cannot be quantified and the shop still holds on to it dearly.

If we are not adjusting inflation, it would be worth $2, but we are, so the coin is in fact extremely valuable. Someone brought the coin in to trade a few years ago.

The shop has thousands of visitors a day

People coming into one’s business is a good thing, but when the amount goes up to a range of 3,000 to 5,000 people every single day, it gets a bit hectic. The guys used to manage the store themselves and were the main points of contact for pawning.

However, now that the fanbase is so large, they needed to change how they go about things and sit in the back for fans. Some fans even try to sneak in.

No more garage sales for Rick

Rick has gotten to a level of fame where people recognize him everywhere he goes. What that means is that he can no longer just browse through garage sales like he used to. People now know who he is and what he is there to do so they either up the price or hide the prized possessions altogether.

Rick probably sends little spies for him now, but they get to do all the fun for him!

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