TV shows to expose real Vegas

These aren't strangers living together in a house.

No one will be voted off the island.

When they're in front of the camera, they're not fist-pumping at the club or tanning themselves to a golden brown.

They're Clark County government employees, and the interest in their jobs is pushing them toward reality television stardom.

The benefit? The shows put money into the county pot while exposing more about the community than its slot machines and Elvis impersonators.

Diana Alba, county clerk, is in preliminary talks with a production company interested in producing a show about the wedding industry that would include the demand for Las Vegas weddings with a central focus on particular couples and how they get married. It's the fourth production company to contact Alba in her two years as clerk.

"I don't want ugly stories," said Alba, who runs the marriage license bureau. "I want happy endings. I know they're not all perfect, but the funky stories -- the themed weddings, the 80-year-old high school sweethearts who reconnected and the guy being deployed to Iraq who gets married quickly so his bride will be on his insurance -- they wanted to show interesting stories, not craziness. I liked that concept."

Although the number has decreased, Alba's office led the nation last year in pumping out 92,000 marriage licenses, beating out Honolulu County, another top wedding destination, by more than 70,000 licenses.

"There's always some risk in what they choose to show," Alba said. "People are people, and there are flaws. Dealing with reality is always a risk."

The office would directly benefit in issuing more licenses -- a $31 revenue generator for the county for each license -- and the promotion of getting married in Las Vegas, Alba said.

Indirectly, the county might see an increase in room rental taxes, tuxedo sales and flower sales.

"I could handle the little bit of attention that would come from this," she said, laughing. "I don't see it being a big phenomenon as far as I'm concerned. The star would be Las Vegas. My office would have a supporting role."

Mark Hall-Patton, county museum administrator who appears on the History Channel's "Pawn Stars," said the show's popularity has boosted attendance at the Clark County Museum and saved the county thousands of dollars in advertising on national and international television.

Each time Hall-Patton is called to the shop for his expertise regarding aviation, military and Native American pieces, among other areas, the production company makes a donation to the county.

"Realistically, the cost of the advertising that we acquire from that is so much more than what I'm paid," he said.

"When you look at what it would cost, four to five minutes on the No. 1 show on cable, I'm on it on a weekly basis almost, or they're repeating it incessantly. There's no way we could ever buy that kind of advertising. I've never tried to put a price tag on it."

"Pawn Stars" is broadcast in 130 countries and reaches as many as 20 million viewers weekly.

"I have yet to know what I sound like in Croatian," Hall-Patton said. "I get friend requests on Facebook from Israel. It's a very strange thing for a museum administrator. That's what they're looking for, the next hook people are going to love."

County Coroner Mike Murphy, whose office is the subject of a new documentary television show with Discovery Studios, said people are fascinated with Las Vegas being a city that never sleeps.

The County Commission approved a production deal in September with a promise that the county will get $5,000 per episode and the show won't reveal personally identifiable characteristics of the dead.

The coroner's office will showcase medical examiners and technicians from crime scene to autopsy and the search for relatives. Filming is expected to start soon.

"There's been interest expressed in knowing what we do and how we do it," Murphy said. "It's more about the process and not individual cases. It's part about the people and part about the science. ...

"Our employees work very hard, and a lot of people don't know what they do. We can feature some of the amazing things they're able to do in reference to coming to conclusions and identifying people. It's good for the organization and good for the employees."

The payment to the county does play a factor, although it's a small one, Murphy added.

"I think that if they weren't willing to pay the cost to the county, that may not have been something we were interested in doing," he said. "It wouldn't offset expenses. We're in lean economic times, and anything that can generate some funding is a positive thing."

Contact reporter Kristi Jourdan at kjourdan@reviewjournal.com or 702-455-4519. The Associated Press contributed to this report.