Posted on: February 19, 2026, 09:55h.
Last updated on: February 19, 2026, 10:10h.
- TV producer Michael Levitt’s TikTok video of an overpriced Snickers bar at MGM Grand is going viral
- Some commentors claim the high price is criminal, others argue it is a simple convenience tax
- CEO Bill Hornbuckle previously admitted that some of his company’s pricing has been insensitive to the guest experiences
A Hollywood television producer may have stumbled into the most viral moment of his career — a short video filmed inside the MGM Grand that ignited a fresh round of internet fury over Las Vegas nickel-and-diming.
Michael Levitt — whose résumé includes Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D‑List, The Billboard Music Awards, Hollywood Squares, The Teen Choice Awards, and Celebrity Duets — posted a 31-second video to his TikTok account from MGM Grand gift shop on February 15. In it, he holds up a Snickers bar and declares it costs $13.
“People wonder why people aren’t coming to Vegas,” he says. “Is that out of control or what?”
On TikTok, the clip performed decently — about 14,700 likes. But when the X account @WallStreetApes reposted it on February 18, it went ape____, garnering 1.2 million views in under 24 hours.
“This is why Las Vegas needs to be boycotted,” the account wrote. “This price on this isn’t just a scam. It should be considered criminal.” The sentiment resonated: thousands of commenters piled on.
Local social‑media news source Las Vegas Locally added his own spin, noting that MGM can charge $13 “because enough of you are willing to pay that much,” later adding: “Also, you‘re not paying $13 for a Snickers. You’re paying $13 to not have to make the short walk down the street to the Walgreens where they cost $2.”
A High Bar?
Complicating matters, the Snickers bar in question wasn’t standard US issue, but a special-edition Cherry Whip, an imported product that typically carries a higher base price. Several commenters pointed this out, arguing the clip lacked context.
“This is disingenuous — that’s an imported candy bar,” one commenter noted. “Try finding one in a regular store.”
Another TikTok user suggested the video was misleading because Levitt never showed the price tag. In response, Levitt posted a follow-up video the same day. To demonstrate that the entire row of candy bars in the store cost $13, the video showed him purchasing a domestic Kit‑Kat Chunky Drumstick at the same shop and getting run up for $12.99.
“Told ya — 13 dollars!” he said. (The graphic read, “Hi Kelly I accept your apology.”)
The $13 Snickers will no doubt earn its place in the pantheon of excessive Las Vegas markups, alongside the:
- $25 silverware fee charged to room-service customers at the Bellagio, Cosmopolitan, and Mandalay Bay,
- $26 bottle of minbar water at Aria
- $50 cord unplugging fee at Paris Las Vegas
- $50 early check-in charge at Flamingo
Read in detail about these and other maddening examples of Las Vegas nickel & diming in our November 2025 article, “Fee & Loathing.”
‘Shame on Us’
Even MGM Resorts CEO Bill Hornbuckle had to acknowledge the problem. On an earnings call last October, he admitted his company had overreached on certain prices.
“When we think about pricing and things that got everyone’s attention, whether it’s the infamous ($26) bottle of water or Starbucks coffee at Excalibur that cost $12, shame on us,” he said. “We should have been more sensitive to the overall experience at a place like Excalibur.
“To those customers, you can’t have a $29 room and a $12 coffee.”
Levitt’s video proves that customers at the MGM Grand — which is not one of MGM Resorts’ budget properties — aren’t happy paying such prices, either.
