"[6] TV Guide has offered a similar description, calling the show "one part Antiques Roadshow, a pinch of LA Ink and a dash of COPS.

"[7] Numerous local experts in a variety of fields also regularly appear to appraise the items being sold or pawned, two of whom have gone on to their own spin-off programs.

[14] It had been the subject of a 2001 PBS documentary,[15] and the manager and part-owner, Rick Harrison, had been trying unsuccessfully to pitch a show based on his shop for four years.

Whoever is evaluating the object goes over the potential value with the customer, including the expert's opinion, if one is given, often interspersed with an interview in which he explains the basis of his decision to the viewer.

Common conflicts include how to run the shop, the elder Harrisons questioning Corey's judgment,[25][26] and aspersions cast on Chumlee's intelligence and competence.

The staff's presence on Facebook and Twitter also ensures audiences during local nightclub appearances, for which Corey Harrison and Chumlee Russell are paid $1,000 a night.

This is due to laws requiring the identities of customers pawning items to remain confidential, and tourists and fans taking photos and video in the showroom would preclude this.

Cameo appearances have been made by Phil Collen, Joe Elliott, Bob Dylan, Jeremy McKinnon, Meredith Vieira, the Oak Ridge Boys, George Stephanopoulos, Matt Kenseth, Steve Carell, Kip Winger, Roger Daltrey, Katie Couric, Vic Flick, Butch Harmon, Billy Gibbons, and Marc-André Fleury.

[152] In 2016, a New York Times study of the 50 TV shows with the most Facebook likes found that Pawn Stars was most popular in rural Kentucky.

"[155] Some of History's viewers were reportedly displeased with how reality series like Pawn Stars and Swamp People have replaced some of the network's previous history-oriented programming.

[152] The series has also attracted some criticism from other pawnbrokers, who while conceding its entertainment value, claim that the series' focus on the extravagant vintage items brought into the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop are not typical of the average pawn shop, whose business is predicated on an individual's fixed income who bring in conventional objects in order to pay their bills, such as electronics, tools, and jewelry.

They also point out that appraisals are handled by the staff, who rely on experience, reference works, and research, and not the outside experts who are frequently seen on the show aiding the Harrisons.

At the June 2011 NHL Awards in Las Vegas,[157] the Hanson Brothers from the movie Slap Shot appeared in a spoof sketch in which they try to sell the Stanley Cup to Harrison at the Gold & Silver.

In March 2016, Austin "Chumlee" Russell pleaded guilty to charges stemming from police having discovered an arsenal of weapons, marijuana, and other drugs at his home in Las Vegas.

[178] In June 2011, Rick Harrison's autobiography, License to Pawn: Deals, Steals, and My Life at the Gold & Silver, was published by Hyperion Books.

[181] On September 5, 2012, it was announced that Bally Technologies would unveil a new slot machine featuring the cast of Pawn Stars the following month at the 2012 Global Gaming Expo,[182] which took place from October 2 to 4, 2012 in Las Vegas.