‘Pawn Stars’ Chumlee celebrates pre-wedding in downtown Las Vegas – VIDEO
In keeping with the TV show theme ever-present in his life, Chumlee’s wedding is a two-part episode.
Part 1 was Saturday with friends and family at the D Las Vegas.
Part 2 will be in May in Hawaii.
Chumlee, the “Pawn Stars” mainstay whose real name is Austin Russell, celebrated a pre-wedding ceremony with his bride-to-be Olivia Rademann at the hotel’s Detroit Room. Chum’s friends and cast mates Rick and Corey Harrison; D Las Vegas co-owner Derek Stevens and his wife, Nicole; BMX starT.J. Lavin; rapper Mikey P. and Kailah Casillas of MTV’s “Real World: Go Big Or Go Home”; DCasino Director Richard Wilk; andmagician Murray Sawchuck with his girlfriend, “Crazy Girls” dancer and emcee Dani Elizabeth were among those in the mix.
“It’s beautiful. I already feel like I’m married,” Chumlee said during a phone chat Sunday. “We were friends for a year or two before we were ever a couple, and got together right around the beginning of 2016.”
The couple were engaged in May at the Royal Hawaiian Waikiki, with Chumlee presenting his future bride with a 1½-karat diamond ring. A few months later, they celebrated the announcement with a dinner party at the D’s Andiamo Steakhouse.
Rademann, a student at UNLV, said she hopes to open her own eyelash studio or even a chain of such boutiques. Chumlee is already operating his own business, Chumlee’s Candy on the Blvd. at Pawn Plaza, next door to Gold & Silver Pawn. He and his brother, Sage, run the candy shop.
“Maybe we can open a chain of these shops side-by-side,” Chumlee said. “We can have candy and eyelash businesses all over the place.”
Chumlee is confident “Pawn Stars” will return to History after Season 16, the first season in the series’ expanded one-hour format.
“I don’t see any reason why a new season wouldn’t come,” he said. “Season 16 was really the most fun I’ve had in the past eight years or so, since the first couple, because we’ve been able to explain the items in deeper detail and Rick’s been going on the road a lot. It’s fun when the Pawn Stars get outside of Vegas.”
Chumlee’s ongoing weight-loss and fitness program is producing results. He underwent gastric sleeve surgery in February 2018 and has dropped from about 340 pounds to his current 210.
“I’m working with a trainer, and would like to get rid of about 10-20 pounds of fat and build more muscle,” Chumlee, 36, said. “I want to be in good shape, not just lose weight.”
But with a marriage in the offing, a lighter Chum has more fun.
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His PodKats podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts.Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.
