After reading some reviews online I was a little worried. There was talk about 30 minute lines to get inside on busy weekends. We got there after lunch around 1pm.
Super Bowl weekend is supposed to be one of the busiest in Vegas, but the lines here weren't too bad. We waited maybe 10 minutes before going in.
Once we got inside, the shop seemed a lot smaller than what it appears on the show. Maybe being super crowded just makes it seem small.
Some people online were complaining about all the room the t-shirts and TV merchandise took up. I understand why they do it though. With all those people there, hardly anyone was buying the pawn shop merchandise. It's turned into a tourist attraction and most people are just there to browse.
They even had a camera set up that would take a photo and email it to you.
Jonathan found a cool hood he liked.
And we thought this sign on the floor was cool.
One thing that was constantly emphasized online was that you won't see anyone from the show at the store. All the filming is done early in the morning with the store being closed to regular customers. So imagine our surprise when learned that Mark Hall-Patton was at the store taking photos and signing autographs! Mark Hall-Patton is the administrator of the Clark County Museum and is regularly called to the store to authenticate an item.
Mark was very nice and personable. We walked up and immediately he reached to shake hands and asked where we were from. When we said Redondo Beach, he said he knew the area well and that he founded the Anaheim Museum and was director of the San Luis Obispo museum for 8 years.
And he was even giving away calendars for his museum.
And signing them! By the time we left, maybe 20 minutes later, Mark was gone. We were really lucky to catch him there.
Jonathan found a huge Chumlee bobblehead.
This was featured on a recent show. It was a supposed Salvador Dali sculpture that Chumlee bought for $600. It turned out that it's a fake but still worth $500-$1000. But, it was on TV so the price-tag on it was $1200. Yikes!
One of the cooler items we remember seeing from the show. A Ring Gun.
This is a 2002 Patriots Super Bowl ring. Sale price was $100,000. It had a sign that said, "No you can't try it on."
Pretty cool!
Time to head to our next stop!
That's awesome! When we drove through for our cruise a couple years ago, we stopped at a gas station. I checked how far away we were - about 6 miles. Definitely not as close as I was thinking!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your little story. If I was going to visit the store, I Will remember to com there early. 😊
ReplyDelete