THUNDER BAY – “I’m Rick Harrison, and this is my pawn shop”… The opening line to the History Channel hit series Pawn Stars may take on some taller employees. Imagine, “I’m Rick Harrison, and these are my NBA stars”. The shop is offering jobs to National Basketball Association players who are currently locked out. It is hard to tell if that means that Chumley will potentially end up traded away.
“Chum and I love basketball and wagering on the games,” says partner and “Pawn Star” Corey Harrison. “We really miss the guys and the action and thought it might be fun to have them spend a day or more with us, while they aren’t playing ball.” Chumlee added, “If they think they work up a sweat during the game, they should see what it is like to negotiate under the watchful eye of the Old Man.”
NBA Players wanting to learn the art of pawn could even donate their earnings from their day’s work to a charity. “We have a lot of sports memorabilia in Gold & Silver and the combination of sports and pawn might be a nice change of pace for the players, as they are off work so far this season,” said Rick Harrison, “Pawn Star” and founding partner of Gold & Silver.
With more than 4000 people a day coming into the store, Gold & Silver Pawn has become one of Las Vegas’ top tourist destinations. Located at 713 S. Las Vegas Blvd., the store is home to filming the famous television show five days a week and is open 24 hours a day (9 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the showroom and at the pawn window from 9 p.m. to 9 a.m.)
Richard Harrison, the Old Man on “Pawn Stars” and patriarch of the Harrison clan, believes everyone should put in a hard day’s work and challenges NBA players to take him one-on-one in the negotiating arena. “It seems those players need a little help in their negotiation skills,” said Harrison. “Maybe I could give them a tip or two.”
NBA Players seeking to take advantage of this job offer should send resumes or inquiries to nbapawnstar@gmail.com. “In all seriousness, we want the guys back on the hardwood sooner than later,” said Rick Harrison. “In the meantime, we think it would be fun and educational for all involved, after all, we do call the show ‘laugh and learn”.