Pawn Stars has become the most popular show on cable. According to the store owner Rick Harrison,  he gets 2,000 to 3,000 people a day at his store, in part because of the TV show, in part because in Las Vegas the need for cash can be pressing. He sells watches and jewelry and artwork, the strangest of which was some handpainted, 200-year-old Japanese porn, for which he paid $11,000 after he consulted with some of his network of experts.

According to the Pawn Stars site on the History Channel, In the past 100 years, the number of pawn shops has skyrocketed in the United States. During the Great Depression era, pawn shops were among the only institutions offering cash as banks failed and people were forced to give up their cherished items to make ends meet. Today, whether in big cities and small towns, pawn shops are still a primary place people can go to turn their items into cash. These shops operate as mini-banks for millions of Americans who do not hold checking accounts, and they also serve as an area of exchange for people of all class backgrounds to buy and sell unique, rare or coveted items. Electronics, musical instruments and distinctive pieces of clothing are also commonly pawned items.

Pawn shops throughout the country do much of the same thing on the show but without the television exposure. If your local pawn shop is hiring it may be an interesting place to work.