Where Pawn Stars' Rick Harrison Dines in Las Vegas

Rick Harrison describes himself as a book nerd who doesn’t watch TV, not even his own Pawn Stars show on the History Channel. He quit school because he fell so far behind after suffering migraines brought on by epileptic seizures while he was growing up. He never imagined anyone would be interested in “a show about four fat pawn brokers.” He first learned his negotiation and business skills when he sold bags at swap meets and turned that into Gold & Silver Pawn Shop with his dad, a Navy veteran known as the Old Man to fans of Pawn Stars, in 1981 when the whole family moved from San Diego after the real estate downturn. Harrison discovered that if the media wrote about the art and other interesting items in Gold & Silver, the phone rang a little more. It took four years of pitching the idea of Pawn Stars before Left Field Productions decided to produce the show, but from there, it only took two months for the show to appear on the History Channel. Now Pawn Stars airs in more than 150 countries and in more than 30 languages with nearly 7 million viewers on any given Thursday night when it airs twice. The pawn shop has gone through its own transformation, starting with 13 employees before the show aired to more than 50 now, and from 70 customers a day to 5,000. And just this year, he opened Pawn Plaza with his own Rick’s Rollin Smoke BBQ & Tavern (where you might even find Harrison bartending) anchoring the 6,000 square feet of retail space and 6,000 square feet of balcony and patio in the container park just to the south of the pawn shop. Here, Harrison shares some of his favorite places to dine in Las Vegas.

Which restaurants do you turn to when you’re not working?
Vintner Grill, T-Bones Chophouse at Red Rock Resort, Prime at the Bellagio, SW Steakhouse at Wynn Las Vegas and N9NE Steakhouse at the Palms. I know you only asked for three, but damn, it’s Vegas and there are a lot of great restaurants here!

What dishes are most memorable?
My favorite dish at SW, T-Bones and Prime is their tomahawk chop. At Vintner Grill, I love their cheese plate.

Why do you enjoy going there?
Any place I take my wife and/or family has to have a great atmosphere, great food, great wine and great liquor and all of those restaurants have it all!

Would you like to include any other information?
For the best barbecue on the planet and in the universe, check out Rollin Smoke BBQ! Even better, check out Rick’s Rollin Smoke BBQ & Tavern at Pawn Plaza and catch me bartending upstairs in the Tavern every Friday and Saturday night!