Erik Cassel was an American software engineer best known for being the co-founder of Roblox Corporation. Learn all you need to know about David Baszucki’s co-founder in the article below.

Early Life, Family, Educational Background

Erik S. Cassel was born on 16 December 1967, under the zodiac sign of Sagittarius in the US. He was of Caucasian ethnicity and held American nationality. Erik discovered that he had brain cancer in 2010, and died on 11 February 2013, at 45.

When Eric was five years old, his father would take him to work and set him up in front of a punch card machine for Erik’s amusement. As he played with the punch card machine, he thought computers were awesome.

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Due to his fascination with computers, Erik started programming when he got into Junior High School, using a microcomputer called Radio Shack TRS-80. During recess, he would program a game, play it and return to class. He didn’t own a hard drive at the time, so every program he wrote was deleted afterwards, – he just kept writing new ones every day. At that stage of his life, Erik Cassel knew he wanted to be a programmer, and upon matriculation, he enrolled at Cornell University.

Career

Knowledge Revolution

Erik was partnered with David Baszucki for entire working career.

He started as a programmer immediately after he graduated from college. He read about Knowledge Revolution – an educational software company founded by David Baszucki in 1989 – in MacUser Magazine, and

instantly developed an interest in the company, flew out to meet Baszucki, who interviewed and hired him.

Erik with Baszucki developed two products – Interactive Physics and Working Model; both products, designed to make educational physics an easier process for teachers/students, went on to win many awards.

In December of 1998, MSC Software purchased Knowledge Revolution for $20 million, with Erik and David retaining senior roles in the company. They accepted the positions but left after a few years.

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Roblox Corporation

Video game developer Roblox Corporation was founded by David Baszucki and Erik Cassel in 2004, in Menlo Park, California. The inspiration behind the company was that the duo wanted to create a 3D world, completely physically simulated, on which its users could work, play and share ideas. Cassel and his co-founder spent two years working on and refining the original Roblox Product (called DynaBlocks at the time) – according to Baszucki, ‘it was Erik who first thought ROBLOX needed an API and scripting engine rather than the hard-wired approach I had suggested.’ The game was officially released on 1 September 2006.

In the early days,R oblox was a single-player game with no Robloxian characters. However, the day the founders finally released a multiplayer game with characters, 20 young people got together in ‘Crossroads’ and started building. The audience received the new multiplayer level with much enthusiasm.

In a 2010 interview, Cassel was asked his favorite thing about working for Roblox, and said, ‘seeing what you Robloxians invent really. I love to write code, but it’s the fun stuff that the ROBLOX community creates that motivates me.’

Roblox Corporation has become one of the biggest game developers in the US. Going from a handful of employees at inception, the famous game developer now has over 1200 employees and over $923 million in revenue by 2020. In 2021, Roblox Corporation was ranked the 9th best game developer by Pocket Biz.

After Erik’s death, Roblox put up some merchandise for sale in his honor. On 15 February 2013, Roblox designed a shirt tagged ‘Official Erik Shirt’ and changed the name of their popular commodity ‘Well Worn Hat’ to ‘Erik Cassel’s Hat’, putting both items on sale for a short while.

However, the product was later taken off the sales page, deciding instead to contribute to cancer research.

They changed the items’ descriptions to read thus: ‘to honor our co-founder Erik Cassel, Roblox will make a substantial contribution to cancer research in Erik’s name. Thank you to everyone for your respect and support.’

Erik Cassel has a Series 1 Roblox Toy modeled after his avatar.

Erik’s sons also built a virtual memorial called the Erik Cassel Memorial Place on the Roblox app, to celebrate their father’s memory. In David Baszucki’s memorial tribute to Erik, he said, ‘after learning of his cancer, Erik worked selflessly to transfer his knowledge and insights to the ROBLOX Engineering team. Erik was incredibly talented, but I’ll always think of him as the nicest guy I’ve ever met.’

Personal Life, Relationship

Erik had a close friendship with his co-founder, David Baszucki, for 20 years. He was also close to his colleagues, who were his second family. His former colleague Keith Lucas said, ‘Though Erik had a profound impact on my career, I will always remember him first and foremost as a friend. We shared laughter, and I am more than comforted to know that I put more than a few smiles on his already smiling face.’

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Erik and his partner had two sons together, however, their dates of birth and his partner’s name are undisclosed. He taught his children all about Roblox, so they’re also active on the Roblox website, with usernames of ‘stunshocker’ and ‘redustian,’ respectively.

During family time, Erik would play games such as Settlers of Catan, Small World, and Ticket to Ride with his children. However, his all-time favorite was Bridge.

Appearance, Clothing Style

Erik was 5ft 8ins (1.73m) tall and weighed around 132 lbs (60kgs). He had short blonde hair and blue eyes. Erik Cassel loved to wear hats, shirts, and pants; his clothing style was simple and clean.

Hobbies, Favorite Things, and Interesting Facts

• Erik enjoyed cooking, cycling, and playing the violin, also woodworking and playing ultimate Frisbee.
• In 2010, he started taekwondo training.
• Erik Cassel liked making people smile.

Net Worth and Salary

At the time of his death, Erik Cassel’s net worth was estimated at $20 million, which he earned from working as VP of Engineering at Knowledge Revolution, Roblox, and from personal projects. Details of property owned by the software engineer and his family remain undisclosed.

Who is Corey Harrison?

Corey Harrison is an American reality TV personality and businessman, known to the world as one of the main stars of the reality TV series “Pawn Stars” (2009-2021), and from appearing in similar shows, including “American Restoration” (2010-2012), and “Counting Cars” (2012), among other appearances.

Corey Harrison Wiki: Age, Childhood, Parents, and Education

Born Richard Corey Harrison on 27 April 1983 under the Gemini zodiac sign, in Las Vegas, Nevada USA, he’s the son of Rick Harrison and his first wife Kim.

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He has two brothers Adam and Jake, and a younger half-brother from his father’s second marriage to Tracy Harrison. Corey’s grandfather is Richard Benjamin Harrison Jr., nicknamed The Old Man, who also appeared in the show and is the co-owner of the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop. Corey’s parents divorced in 1985.

Career

The Gold & Silver Pawn Shop has a rather rich history. Opened in 1981 by Old Man Harrison as a 300-square-foot secondhand store under the name Gold & Silver Coin Shop, on Las Vegas Boulevard South, Corey’s father would work in the shop, and as the business progressed, their appetites increased.

They moved to a larger store on Freemont Street, then eventually after obtaining a license, it became the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop in 1989, located just two miles from the Las Vegas Strip.

Corey was six years old when the shop opened, and was allowed to start helping around the shop when he was nine years old. He began by polishing various items, but as he got older his interest in antiques and other items increased, and he decided to focus full time on the work in the shop.

Corey Harrison

Corey’s father did everything to put the store on television, and after four years of trying, it was picked up by History Channel, and was at first entitled “Pawning History”; however, the name was changed to “Pawn Stars” at the suggestion of the production company employee.

Rise to Prominence

With the pawn shop having its own reality TV show, Corey started working more and more in the shop, and has since become the one with the most business in the shop. His childhood friend, Austen ‘Chumlee’ Russell, joined the “Pawn Stars” as an employee, and the two are often shown in episodes having a good time, goofing around, but Corey has also criticized Chumlee for some of his bad calls, paying for something that isn’t worth much.

So far, he’s featured in more than 430 episodes of the award-winning reality TV show, which has launched him to stardom.

He has threatened to leave the pawn shop and focus on his solo efforts and has expressed that he wants at least a 10% partnership with his father and grandfather. However, he was granted only a 5% stake in the shop, but also an increase in his salary. He accepted the offer, but still launched his own business, the nightclub Beauty Bar, which has since gone through various problems and been shut down.

Corey has showcased his knowledge of motorcycles, both new and old-timers, and is rather knowledgeable about sports memorabilia, which is one of the most sold items in the shop.

For the items that need to be appraised and if Rick, Corey, or Chumlee don’t know the value, they call experts, including Rebecca Romney, Daniel Wulkan, Steve Johnston and Michael Yamasaki.

Personal Life, Marriage, Wife, Children

Corey has two failed marriages behind him. Although in front of the camera for the better part of the day, Corey hasn’t talked much about his first wife and their marriage. All that is known about her is her name, Charlene, and that the two divorced in 2015. Two years later, Corey married for the second time, to Korina ‘Kiki’ Harrison.

Unfortunately, their marriage only lasted until August 2018 when the two divorced, Corey stating that the divorce was amicable and happened because of their competitive work schedules. Just a month following their divorce, Korina gave birth to their son, Richard Benjamin Harrison.

Since then, Corey has remained single, and apparently focused on his career.

Back in 2014, just a few hours before a birthday celebration party, Corey was involved in a motorcycle accident, suffering heavy injuries to his arm, back and foot. He’s recovered completely, and has continued to cherish his motorcycles.

Net Worth

As of late 2021, Corey Harrison’s net worth has been estimated to be around $5 million, earned through his successful career, both on television and in-store.

Appearance and Vital Statistics

Corey Harrison has light brown hair and hazel eyes. He stands at 6ft (1.83m), while he weighs approximately 210lbs (95kgs). He has dealt with weight problems, at one time being over 320lbs (145kgs). However, he has managed to lose weight, and is now looking to maintain a healthy lifestyle.