Gold and Silver Pawn Shop

The Gold & Silver Pawn Shop is the real store behind History's Pawn Stars, filming here since 2009, and walking in is free - so is the parking lot. It sits at 713 Las Vegas Boulevard South, roughly a mile south of Fremont Street on the stretch between downtown and the Strip. Inside, the cases mix genuine pawn inventory (jewelry, coins, watches, sports memorabilia) with pieces that appeared on the show and a long wall of branded merchandise. The counter you see on TV is the counter you stand at, which is exactly why tour buses roll in all day and a midday line out the door is routine.

Temper expectations on two fronts. It's a working pawn shop of modest size, so browsing goes quickly, you can't photograph toward the pawn counter, and video is banned inside. And Rick, Corey, and Chumlee are rarely on the floor. Appearances are unscheduled, partly because Nevada privacy law protects customers pawning their belongings. If a guaranteed photo and autograph is the goal, the shop sells its own $59 Meet & Greet package Thursday through Saturday at 1 or 2 PM; otherwise your best free odds are next door at Pawn Plaza.