Las Vegas Financier Gave Up 'Titan' Sub Seats That Went to Billionaire and His 19-Year-Old Son

Jay Bloom and his son turned down an invitation to join the doomed submarine expedition after expressing safety concerns to OceanGate co-founder Stockton Rush

Jay Bloom, a Las Vegas investor and real estate developer, revealed that he and his son Sean gave up their seats on the Titan submersible that imploded in the Atlantic Ocean during a trip to view the wreck of the Titanic, killing five people on board.

On Monday, Bloom shared on Facebook that OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush – the company that operated the Titan submersible – had invited him and his son to join a dive to the Titanic wreck site in May. They declined due to scheduling conflicts and safety concerns. 

“So this is crazy… I got invited to go on this dive,” Bloom wrote. “If I accepted, I would’ve been one of the five onboard right now."

He continued, "Stockton Rush has been trying to get me to go for a year now. I last saw him at Luxor when we went through the Titanic Exhibition together. I spoke with him a couple of weeks ago and he told me they had an opening on this dive. I hope they’re OK. But they’ve been down for 48 hours now with no communication. It’s supposed to be an eight hour dive."

Related: Coast Guard Says 'Debris Field' Discovered Near 'Titanic' amid Search for Missing 'Titan' Sub

It was revealed on Thursday that Rush — along with British billionaire Hamish Harding, French Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet, and Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman — died when the submersible imploded 1,600 feet from the Titanic wreckage.

In another post shared by Bloom on Thursday evening, along with screenshots of text messages between himself and Rush, the OceanGate co-founder assured him that the voyage was "safer than flying in a helicopter or even scuba diving."

In the texts, Rush was offered the seats at $150,000 each as a "last minute price" instead of the usual $250,000 fee.

"In February Stockton asked me and my son, Sean, to go with him on the dive to Titanic in May,” Bloom wrote. “Both May dives were postponed due to weather and the dive got delayed until June 18th, the date of this trip."

When Bloom expressed safety concerns, he says Rush replied, "There hasn't been even an injury in 35 years in a non-military subs."

Bloom continued, “I am sure he really believed what he was saying. But he was very wrong. He passionately believed in what he was doing.”

Related: 'Titanic'-Bound Submarine Goes Missing, Search Underway: 'Our Entire Focus Is on the Crewmembers'

Bloom further recalled more of his conversation when he last saw Rush on March 1 at the Titanic Exhibit at the Luxor in Las Vegas. There, they discussed the dive and its safety aspects over lunch in the food court

“He was absolutely convinced that it was safer than crossing the street,” Bloom wrote.

He also added, "I told him that due to scheduling we couldn’t go until next year. Our seats went to Shahzada Dawood and his 19 year old son, Suleman Dawood, two of the other three who lost their lives on this excursion (the fifth being Hamish Harding)."

“One last time.. RIP Stockton and crew,” Bloom said. “Tomorrow is never promised. Make the most of today.”

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Azmeh Dawood, the aunt of the youngest person to die in the dive, told NBC News that Suleman "wasn't very up for it" and felt "terrified." However, he went on the dive reluctantly since it was set to depart on Father's Day.

Before the U.S. Coast Guard and OceanGate announced their death, Azmeh revealed that she was anxiously awaiting answers about her relatives.

"I feel like I've been caught in a really bad film with a countdown, but you didn't know what you're counting down to," she said. "I personally have found it kind of difficult to breathe thinking of them. I never thought I would have an issue with drawing breath. It's been unlike any experience I've ever had."

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