Rick Harrison, the longtime face of Las Vegas's Gold & Silver Pawn Shop and star of History Channel's “Pawn Stars,” underwent emergency bypass surgery after what began as a routine stent procedure took an unexpected turn. Doctors discovered during the appointment that Harrison needed the more serious open-heart operation, and he is now said to be resting comfortably as he begins recovery.
Harrison had been scheduled for a routine stent procedure, but doctors found he actually needed emergency bypass surgery, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The distinction matters medically: coronary stent placement is a minimally invasive catheter procedure meant to unblock heart arteries, while coronary artery bypass graft surgery requires open-heart surgery to construct an entirely new route around severely blocked arteries, as Extra reported, citing medical guidelines from Johns Hopkins Medicine and the Mayo Clinic. TMZ was first to report the story, according to the same Review-Journal account.
Harrison's wife, Angie, and his family were reportedly with him during the procedure, the Review-Journal reported. A family representative said Harrison is resting comfortably and looking forward to a full recovery, and Harrison himself expressed gratitude toward the doctors and hospital staff who treated him.
A Health Scare With A Recent Warning Sign
Two weeks before the surgery, Harrison had undergone an echocardiogram at MountainView Hospital in Las Vegas in late August, posting a social media message thanking Angie for her support during that visit, per Extra's reporting. Angie Polushkin, a 42-year-old Las Vegas nurse, married Harrison on January 3 at the Little White Chapel in Las Vegas, with a celebration afterward at Rick's Rollin Smoke BBQ & Tavern near his pawn shop — the same account notes the couple also held a second wedding ceremony in Cancun later that month.
The health scare arrives amid a string of hardships for the Harrison family. Rick Harrison's 39-year-old son, Adam Harrison, died in Las Vegas in January 2024 from an accidental fentanyl overdose, according to the Los Angeles Times, which noted Harrison publicly advocated for stricter border enforcement against illicit synthetic drugs afterward. His mother, Joanne Rhue Harrison, died at age 85 in November 2025, following the 2018 death of his father and pawn shop co-founder Richard “Old Man” Harrison, who co-owned the shop with Rick from 1989 until his death, as WFMD reported.
Son Corey's Own Brush With Danger
Rick Harrison's son Corey Harrison, a former “Pawn Stars” co-star, survived a severe motorcycle crash in Tulum, Mexico, in January, suffering 11 broken ribs, a punctured lung and internal bleeding, according to LADbible, which noted a friend launched a fundraising campaign to help cover his projected medical expenses. Corey has since left “Pawn Stars” and now pursues ventures in Mexico while hosting the “Corey Harrison Show” podcast, according to the Review-Journal.
Despite the family's recent turmoil, production on “Pawn Stars” has continued. Filming resumed for the new season, which History Channel is scheduled to premiere in early 2027, and both Rick Harrison and Austin “Chumlee” Russell returned as primary co-stars before Harrison's surgery, per the Review-Journal's reporting.
A Shop That Became A Strip-Adjacent Institution
Harrison co-founded the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop in 1989 on South Las Vegas Boulevard, less than two miles from the Las Vegas Strip, opening it originally as a 24-hour family enterprise, according to The Mirror US. Harrison had obtained his pawn shop license in the late 1980s only after lobbying against a long-standing city ordinance that capped the total number of pawn licenses at 25, according to Gold & Silver Pawn Shop's own account of the shop's history.
Since “Pawn Stars” debuted on History Channel on July 19, 2009, the show has produced more than 600 episodes across 23 seasons and is broadcast in more than 100 countries, according to Wikipedia's episode history. The series transformed the physical storefront into a major Las Vegas tourist destination that draws up to 4,000 visitors daily. Harrison's public profile has extended beyond the shop floor in recent months as well — he visited former President Donald Trump at the White House in May, four months before his emergency surgery, LADbible reported.
For now, Harrison's family and representatives say the focus is on recovery. The Review-Journal's Kats! column, written by John Katsilometes and running daily in the paper's A section, first carried the local update on Harrison's condition following the surgery.
