A Las Vegas billionaire says OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush tried to sell him "discounted" tickets for the OceanGate Expeditions Titan submersible that ended up imploding.
The billionaire, Jay Bloom, and his son were offered spots on the Titan sub but they had concerns about safety. After they expressed those concerns, Rush offered them discounted spots for $150,000 (compared to the normal price of $250,000).
Screenshots of conversations between Bloom and Rush, shared on Facebook by the billionaire, show that Bloom told Rush his son was excited about possibly going, but one of his son's friends researched some of the dangers, which made him a bit nervous.
Rush responded saying, "I'm happy to have a video call with him. Curious what the uninformed would say the danger is and whether it's real or imagined."
Bloom listed some possible risks, and then said it was "really stupid stuff."
Rush said "yeah very stupid…while there's obviously risk it's way safer than flying in a helicopter or even scuba diving."
Bloom also wrote that when he met up with Rush in person, Rush did not seem concerned about safety.
Bloom said that Rush was "absolutely convinced it was safer than crossing the street," nothing that he thinks Rush really believed what he said.
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In the Facebook post, Bloom wrote that Rush was "passionate" about what he was doing.
"One last time.. RIP Stockton and crew," he wrote. "Tomorrow is never promised. Make the most of today.”
