Las Vegas Iconic Reality Show ‘Pawn Stars’ Cashes In for More TV Gold

Posted on: June 16, 2019, 01:00h. 

Last updated on: June 14, 2019, 01:54h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.

“Pawn Stars,” the hit History Channel reality series that has featured the Las Vegas Gold & Silver Pawn Shop for nearly a decade, has been renewed for 40 new hour-long episodes.

"Pawn Stars" History Las Vegas reality show
“Pawn Stars” will keep the cameras rolling in Las Vegas for at least another 40 episodes. (Image: Richard Brian/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

The Gold & Silver Pawn Shop has become a Las Vegas attraction in its own right, so much that casinos across Sin City have licensed the “Pawn Stars” and its characters’ likenesses for slot machines. Bally Technologies – which was acquired in 2014 by Scientific Games – licensed the show in 2012.

Gold & Silver owner and “Pawn Stars” star Rick Harrison – now the senior patriarch of the family following his father’s death last year – announced the renewal.

It’s confirmed, and each year we try to switch it up a bit,” Harrison told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. New for the next season – the 17th for “Pawn Stars” – is that the cast of characters will be going on the road in search of items of interest.

The 40-show deal represents 80 hours of programming, the largest order in the series’ history. Along with Harrison, the show’s main ensemble consists of Rick’s son Corey and Austin “Chumlee” Russell. The program is produced by Leftfield Pictures.

The Gold & Silver Pawn Shop is located on Las Vegas Blvd just north of the Arts District in downtown Las Vegas.   

Media Hype Good for Business

Las Vegas needs little help in attracting visitors to Southern Nevada each year. More than 42.1 million ventures to the city in 2018.

However, having a national television series that highlights an area certainly only helps attract more visitors. Harrison has stated that traffic through his shop grew tenfold from 70 to 700 daily visitors during the show’s first year. Now, the store welcomes as many as 5,000 people each day.

“People continue to watch the show, they binge watch it, and we’re just continuing,” Harrison said in 2018. History buffs travel to the Gold & Silver shop for a chance at meeting the celebrity TV personalities.

While the economic impact “Pawn Stars” generates for Las Vegas as a whole might be minimal, in other casino markets a major media program can do wonders. Take Deadwood, South Dakota, for example. The remote gold rush town famous for being the site of Wild Bill Hickok’s “Dead Man’s Hand” benefited greatly during the hit HBO series “Deadwood.”

As the premium cable drama series ran from 2004 through 2006, gross gaming revenue at Deadwood’s small gaming parlors surged nearly 40 percent, as visitation skyrocketed.

Star of the Show

Casinos have expanded across the country in recent decades. Today, only nine states do not have either commercial or tribal casinos.

While Nevada has long lost its gambling monopoly, the Silver State – specifically Las Vegas – continues to dominate the gaming industry.

The Las Vegas Strip remains the largest gaming market in the US. Strip casinos won $6.59 billion last year, far ahead of No. 2 Atlantic City at $2.51 billion.