‘Pawn Stars’: Why the Cast Is Forbidden to Work Behind the Main Counter
History’s reality TV show Pawn Stars continues to show the happenings at the World Famous Gold & Silver Pawn Shop. Richard “Old Man” Harrison opened the shop, and his son, Rick Harrison, and grandson, Corey Harrison, keep the dream alive. Corey’s childhood friend, Chumlee Russell, is also a regular in the series. Oddly enough, the main cast in the series is forbidden from working behind the store’s main counter. Here’s why.
Is the ‘Pawn Stars’ pawn shop real?
Fans keeping up with Pawn Stars know all about the World Famous Gold & Silver Pawn Shop. The shop talked about in the series is authentic and functional as a regular pawn shop. According to Distractify, the shop is located at 713 S. Las Vegas Boulevard in Las Vegas, Nevada. Gold & Silver is open every day except Thanksgiving and Christmas. The pawn window is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
With that said, Vital Vegas reports producers had to create a duplicate pawn shop after the show attained a massive audience. The replica looks precisely like Gold & Silver and allowed production to film without disrupting business at the actual location.
Fans hoping to glimpse the cast at Gold & Silver might be disappointed. While the main cast likely worked at Gold & Silver full-time at one point, their celebrity status takes them elsewhere. They stop by the shop occasionally, but the shop has new employees to run the day-to-day business.
However, several stars from the show remain in the area. Rick Harrison owns Rick’s Rollin Smoke BBQ and Tavern and often tends the bar there. And Chumlee Russell owns Chumlee’s Candy on the Boulevard.
The ‘Pawn Stars’ cast is forbidden from working behind the main counter
Loyal viewers hoping to catch the Pawn Stars cast behind the counter of Gold & Silver will be disappointed. According to Looper, the cast of the History reality show can’t work the counter due to Nevada’s privacy laws.
With the cast behind the counter, fans would be snapping photos of the cast frequently. The photos would likely contain shoppers in the store who didn’t consent to have their photo taken. Due to this privacy concern, Pawn Stars producers decided it would be best to play it safe and not have any of the cast members in the show work the counter.
Privacy is also a concern when it comes to filming Pawn Stars. But production has its own way of dealing with this. When the time comes to film, the general public exits the store and extras cast for the series come in to take their place.
The cast never imagined the show would last as long as it has
While the Pawn Stars cast no longer serves everyday customers behind the counter of Gold & Silver, they’re still incredibly thankful for the series’ success. Kelly Ripa interviewed Rick Harrison, Corey Harrison, and Chumlee Russell about the series. Corey shared that after he watched the first episode, he thought Pawn Stars would face cancellation. Of course, he was wrong. History made over 250 episodes of the show and counting.
Rick also mentioned that working with his family was the best and worst part of his job — and Corey agreed. Rick calls Corey at night if Corey makes a mistake earlier that day, and if they weren’t related, they likely wouldn’t have this type of relationship.
Pawn Stars airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET on History.
