LAS VEGAS - Las Vegas is famous for its glitz and glamour. The vibrant city oozes sex appeal. Increasingly, the characters on reality television programs set in Las Vegas provide fascinating scripts not even Hollywood could create.
The successful History Channel reality show "Pawn Stars" takes you inside the colorful world of the Gold and Silver Pawn Shop on Las Vegas Boulevard near Bonneville Avenue. The business has become a top tourist attraction.
"We've gone from 70 people a day before the show. One day, we had 8,000 people," said "Pawn Stars" publicist Laura Herlovich. "Most of the time, it's kinda' like a commercial for the city, and I think everybody loves Vegas, and everybody finds Vegas intriguing."
From the young, wild and hot on the E! Channel's "Holly's World", to big spenders indulging at the Hard Rock's Rehab pool party, to oddballs getting locked up on Tru TV's "Las Vegas Jailhouse", it all adds up to free promotion for the entertainment capital of the world.
Ed Harran with the Nevada Film Office says 77 reality television productions came to Nevada in 2011.
"We are the kings of reality television," he said. "If you look at Las Vegas Boulevard and Las Vegas in general, it's almost like a character in reality shows."
Even the departed who go under the knife in Las Vegas could soon land cameos in reality television shows. The morgue may soon be the scene of a new show that features Clark County Coroner Mike Murphy and his staff.
"There's a lot of science that goes on behind the scenes in reference to how we identify people, what we do to go out and make those notifications," Murphy said. "So, seeing what goes on in that process, in an appropriate manner, we think can be very interesting to people."
Murphy says the program would be respectful for the deceased and their families.
Meanwhile, "Vegas Strip" debuts in January, promising "a never-before-seen look at the wildest street in the world" and following "tough as nails" cops.
From solving the mysteries of death to the dazzling energy of life, Las Vegas is hitting a jackpot with reality television.
