‘Pawn Stars’ family has another Harrison on the way
Coming soon to “Pawn Stars,” a little baby named for “Old Man.”
“Pawn Stars” mainstay Corey Harrison and his wife, Kiki, are expecting their first child, to be named Richard Benjamin Harrison. It’s the same name as Richard “Old Man” Harrison, patriarch of the Gold & Silver Pawn family and co-star with Corey, Rick Harrison and Austin “Chumlee” Russell on the History channel hit show.
Corey and his wife announced the pregnancy last week on Corey’s Instagram page. He says of the addition to the family, “I’m happy, and I’m nervous as hell.”
It’s the couple’s first child. The due date is Oct. 23.
“I hope he has Corey’s eyes,” says Kiki, who works as an executive assistant in Las Vegas. The couple were married May 26 near Kiki’s hometown of San Diego.
Corey Harrison continues his amazement (and he is not alone) at the success of “Pawn Stars,” a ratings hit since it debuted in July 2009. The show has sparked several side businesses for the cast members, especially the Pawn Plaza shopping annex just south of the Gold & Silver operation on Las Vegas Boulevard, just north of Charleston Boulevard.
“It’s the song that never ends,” he says. “The store is full, people still love the show, and we’re getting ready to start filming again. It used to be that I’d work 80 hours a week and never get caught up. Now I’m looking for stuff to do.”
Come late October, that will probably not be the case.
Geared up for The Cars
When I first played The Killers’ debut album, “Hot Fuss,” my favorite song was “On Top,” with its synthesizer intro so reminiscent of The Cars. Appropriately, Killers front man Brandon Flowers is introducing the great Boston band at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony April 14 at Cleveland’s historic Public Hall.
The Killers are involved musically, too, opening the show with a yet-determined Tom Petty classic.
What of Vinyl?
Plans to build a new nightclub at Virgin Hotels (today’s Hard Rock Hotel) near The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel will forge a change in brand and an expansion of what is now Vinyl music club. The venue opened in August 2012 and current home “Raiding the Rock Vault” sits just off the entrance of The Joint.
But the name, scope and aesthetics of Vinyl will be changed beginning in April 2019.
“All of our public area renovations will begin then, and preliminary plans are to expand Vinyl, and it will be called something other than Vinyl,” Hard Rock Hotel/Virgin Hotels partners and Chief Executive Officer Richard “Boz” Bosworth said today. “I don’t know yet what the name will be, but it won’t be Vinyl.”
Beyond the brand, look for an expanded nightlife venue abutting the Joint, where there are no plans to change the name.
“We want a club where every seat is VIP, but will not be competing it the superstar-DJ world,” Bosworth added that the club will be larger than it is today, but smaller than such uber-clubs as Marquee at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, Hakkasan Nightclub at MGM Grand and XS at Wynn Las Vegas.
How “Rock Vault” fits into this schematic is yet uncertain. The show is signed through the end of July, and as Bosworth said, “We are excited to work with all of our existing tenants.” Harry Cowell, producer of “Rock Vault,” says his team is currently in negotiations. After opening at Las Vegas Hilton in 2013 and moving to Tropicana Theater in 2015, the production settled into Vinyl in March 2017. “Rock Vault” celebrated its 1,000th show in Las Vegas last November.
What is evident is that “Rock Vault” is a popular show that often sells out the room in its 343-seat configuration and has been an asset for its repeat business. The lineup of topnotch rock musicians (including Rock Hall of Famer Howard Leese of Heart) also fits the general rock-and-roll vibe of both Hard Rock Hotel and the incoming Virgin Hotels brand. As Cowell says, “The show will go on.”
Splashy evening
Returning to the topic of developments in the reality-TV world …
Brett Raymer of “Tanked,” the Animal Planet series that tracks the happenings at Acrylic Tank Manufacturing, hit a $5,600 jackpot on a $1, five-play video poker machine at Red Rock Resort on Friday night.
Raymer headed to the resort with $1,000 in his wallet, with the idea he would play some blackjack.
However …
“I wasn’t feeling blackjack, I was hungry and was going to get something to eat and said, ‘I can’t leave without throwing a couple hundred bucks at a machine,’ “Raymer said this morning. “I sat down next to a guy wearing a Golden Knights jersey who had just won $2,200 and said, ‘I hope I’m as lucky as you.’ “
Four hands later, Raymer was dealt four 4s on all five hands.
“I’ve lived here for 24 years, and that’s the biggest jackpot I’ve ever won,” he said. “It was the first time I’ve ever had to give my Social Security number after winning a jackpot.” He tipped out $100, grabbed a coffee and headed home.
The moral of this story, of course: You never know if you’re lucky unless you play. The other moral: The Golden Knights are good luck.
Cool Hang Alert
The oft-mentioned Mondays Dark show at 8 p.m. at The Space, “The Music of ’77,” benefiting Imagine Dragons charity the Tyler Robinson Foundation. The show marks The Space overlord (and Golden Knights on-ice emcee) Mark Shunock’s birthday. He was born in 1977; you do the math. This should be a boozy of a doosy, folks.
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter.