\n Posted on: February 19, 2026, 09:55h.\u00a0\n <\/p>\n
\n Last updated on: February 19, 2026, 10:10h.\n <\/p>\n
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<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n- \n
- TV producer Michael Levitt\u2019s TikTok video of an overpriced Snickers bar at MGM Grand is going viral<\/strong><\/li>\n
- Some commentors claim the high price is criminal, others argue it is a simple convenience tax<\/strong><\/li>\n
- CEO Bill Hornbuckle previously admitted that some of his company\u2019s pricing has been insensitive to the guest experience<\/strong><\/strong>s<\/strong>
\nA Hollywood television producer may have stumbled into the most viral moment of his career \u2014 a short video filmed inside the MGM Grand that ignited a fresh round of internet fury over Las Vegas nickel-and-diming.<\/p>\n
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TV producer Michael Levitt takes the stage at the 9th Annual TV Land Awards in New York in 2011. (Image: Andrew H. Walker\/FilmMagic via Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Michael Levitt \u2014 whose r\u00e9sum\u00e9 includes Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D\u2011List<\/em>, The Billboard Music Awards<\/em>, Hollywood Squares<\/em>, The Teen Choice Awards<\/em>, and Celebrity Duets<\/em> \u2014 posted a 31-second video<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople wonder why people aren\u2019t coming to Vegas,\u201d he says. \u201cIs that out of control or what?\u201d<\/p>\n
On TikTok, the clip performed decently \u2014 about 14,700 likes. But when the X account @WallStreetApes<\/a> reposted it on February 18, it went ape____, garnering 1.2 million views in under 24 hours.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is why Las Vegas needs to be boycotted,\u201d the account wrote. \u201cThis price on this isn\u2019t just a scam. It should be considered criminal.\u201d The sentiment resonated: thousands of commenters piled on.<\/p>\n
Local social\u2011media news source Las Vegas Locally<\/em> added his own spin, noting that MGM can charge $13 \u201cbecause enough of you are willing to pay that much,\u201d later adding: \u201cAlso, you\u2018re not paying $13 for a Snickers. You\u2019re paying $13 to not have to make the short walk down the street to the Walgreens where they cost $2.\u201d<\/p>\n
A High Bar?<\/h2>\n
Complicating matters, the Snickers bar in question wasn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is disingenuous \u2014 that\u2019s an imported candy bar,\u201d one commenter noted. \u201cTry finding one in a regular store.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another TikTok user suggested the video was misleading because Levitt never showed the price tag. In response, Levitt posted a follow-up video<\/a> 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\u2011Kat Chunky Drumstick at the same shop and getting run up for $12.99.<\/p>\n
\u201cTold ya \u2014 13 dollars!\u201d he said. (The graphic read, \u201cHi Kelly I accept your apology.\u201d)<\/p>\n
The $13 Snickers will no doubt earn its place in the pantheon of excessive Las Vegas markups, alongside the:<\/p>\n
- \n
- $25 silverware fee charged to room-service customers at the Bellagio, Cosmopolitan, and Mandalay Bay,<\/li>\n
- $26 bottle of minbar water at Aria<\/li>\n
- $50 cord unplugging fee at Paris Las Vegas<\/li>\n
- $50 early check-in charge at Flamingo<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Read in detail about these and other maddening examples of Las Vegas nickel & diming in our November 2025 article, \u201cFee & Loathing.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2018Shame on Us\u2019<\/h2>\n
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MGM Resorts CEO Bill Hornbuckle. (Image: Ethan Miller\/Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we think about pricing and things that got everyone\u2019s attention, whether it\u2019s the infamous ($26) bottle of water or Starbucks coffee at Excalibur that cost $12, shame on us,\u201d he said. \u201cWe should have been more sensitive to the overall experience at a place like Excalibur.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo those customers, you can\u2019t have a $29 room and a $12 coffee.\u201d<\/p>\n
Levitt\u2019s video proves that customers at the MGM Grand \u2014 which is not one of MGM Resorts\u2019 budget properties \u2014 aren\u2019t happy paying such prices, either.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
- Some commentors claim the high price is criminal, others argue it is a simple convenience tax<\/strong><\/li>\n