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Las Vegas man was invited to reserve spot on the missing Titanic submarine

Jay Bloom, a Las Vegas financer and his son
Jay Bloom, a Las Vegas financer and his son
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LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A Las Vegas father and son said OceanGate CEO, Stockton Rush, pressured them for months into taking two seats on the now failed mission to the Titanic.

MORE: 'A catastrophic implosion': All 5 on board missing sub presumed dead

Due to mounting safety concerns, the two decided against the trip.

Rush also flew to Las Vegas on a homebuilt, 2-seater plane to try and convince them. Rush also offered a "last minute price cut" of $150,000."

“He drank his own Kool-Aid and he sort of had this predisposition that it was safe," the father and son said to ABC News. "And anybody who disagreed with him, uh, he felt it was just a differing opinion. Uh, but, uh, he just kind of was going to go with what he believed.”

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Jay Bloom provided text messages between him and Rush where he says the Titanic trip is safer than flying a helicopter or even scuba diving. In one message, Stockton writes, "filling up this year and next, want to reserve a spot?"