Gold Rush Fans Agree That The Stakes Aren't Very High For The Miners

Discovery's "Gold Rush" is a show that focuses on gold miners struggling to make a living in one of the most difficult and unforgiving jobs on the planet, often at great personal cost to themselves. Although some members of the "Gold Rush" team, like Parker Schnabel, were essentially born into the industry, many of them abandoned prior careers to chase this dream of becoming a successful gold miner, despite the extreme risk of failure and bankruptcy that comes with the territory.

Indeed, the series constantly reminds its audience how much these men and women have sacrificed to maintain their claims. Longtime "Gold Rush" fans will remember the isolation and financial hardships weathered by Todd Hoffman's crew back in Season 1 and when Fred Lewis had to put his house up to maintain operations on his claim. Time and time again, "Gold Rush" has gone out of its way to address just how high the stakes are for the men and women who chose the grueling life of a gold miner – though hilariously, fans on Reddit don't seem to think the stakes are that high at all.

When former series lead Todd Hoffman returned to "Gold Rush" in 2022, he and the rest of his crew made it clear that this return came at great financial risk to themselves, emphasizing the painstaking hardships of their careers and claiming that this season would be their "last chance" to finally make it in this industry. These comments were heavily criticized by fans online: not only because Hoffman and crew had already achieved immense success earlier in the series but also because fans know full well that the crew makes plenty of money from the show itself.

"'It's our last shot' while we cash the per episode checks," wrote one user on Reddit. "'If we don't find enough gold this year we're done' until next season because those per episode checks are really really great." u/lockylive replied: "I remember season 1 was their last shot and had to sell parts of the airport they own. But let's pretend we can't remember that." Another viewer sarcastically wrote, "It's their last shot guys. Seriously." The overall discussion led to several fans, such as u/pauleide, to believe that the show's checks must be seriously worthwhile.

Indeed, it seems like "this is our last shot" has become a mantra for almost every crew in "Gold Rush" at one point or another. Regardless of how much gold Todd Hoffman and his crew end up pulling in during Season 13 of "Gold Rush," it appears fans are weary of hearing how high the stakes are for these gold miners -– as most seem to believe that every member of "Gold Rush" is making more than enough money regardless of what happens on the claim.