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Exhibit 31.1

Certification of Principal Executive Officer

Pursuant to 15 U.S.C. 78m(a) or 78o(d)

(Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002)

I, Wayland J. Russell, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Rainbow
Rentals, Inc. (the Company), certify that:

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|1. |  | I have reviewed this quarterly report on Form 10-Q of the
Company;                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        
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|2. |  | Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any
untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material
fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the
circumstances under which such statements were made, not
misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;
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|3. |  | Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and
other financial information included in this report, fairly
present, in all material respects, the financial condition,
results of operations and cash flows of the Company as of, and
for, the period presented in this report;                     
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|4. |  | The Companys other certifying officer(s) and I are
responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls
and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and
15d-15(e)) for the Company and have:                                                                                  
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|   |  | (a)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        |  | Designed such disclosure controls and
procedures to ensure that material information relating to
the Company, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made
known to us by others within those entities, particularly
during the period in which this report is being prepared;                                                                                         
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|   |  | (b)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        |  | Evaluated the effectiveness of the Companys
disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this
report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the
disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the
period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and                                                                                           
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|   |  | (c)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        |  | Disclosed in this report any change in the
Companys internal control over financial reporting that
occurred during the Companys most recent fiscal quarter (the
Companys fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual
report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely
to materially affect, the Companys internal control over
financial reporting; and
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|5. |  | The Companys other certifying officer(s) and I have
disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control
over financial reporting, to the Companys auditors and the audit
committee of the Companys board of directors (or persons
performing the equivalent functions):                 
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|   |  | (a)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        |  | All significant deficiencies and material
weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control
over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to
adversely affect the Companys ability to record, process,
summarize and report financial information; and                                                                                                     
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|   |  | (b)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        |  | Any fraud, whether or not material, that
involves management or other employees who have a significant
role in the Companys internal control over financial
reporting.                                                                                                                                                                                                    

/s/ WAYLAND J. RUSSELL

Wayland J. Russell
Rainbow Rentals, Inc.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

August 12, 2003