41: Vegas Pricing, California Politics, and Fire Negligence Guest: Jeff Bliss Jeff Bliss reports on Las Vegas, where MGM CEO Bill Hornbuckle admitted that high pricing strategies—including $12 coffee and $26 bottled water—were driving tourists away and causin

The John Batchelor Show

John Batchelor

Society & Culture, Arts, News, Books

4.5 • 2.8K Ratings

🗓️ 1 November 2025

⏱️ 9 minutes

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Summary

Vegas Pricing, California Politics, and Fire Negligence Guest: Jeff Bliss Jeff Bliss reports on Las Vegas, where MGM CEO Bill Hornbuckle admitted that high pricing strategies—including $12 coffee and $26 bottled water—were driving tourists away and causing massive revenue losses. In California, the $1.5 billion state capital refurbishment project was shrouded in secrecy, with granite quarried in California being sent to Italy for stonework to avoid high labor costs and state safety regulations. Additionally, a lawsuit alleges that LA Fire Department negligence in handling the initial Palisades fire led directly to the massive conflagration that destroyed the neighborhood.

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0:00.0	This is CBS Eye on the World.
0:08.5	Here's John Batchelor.
0:11.8	This is CBSI on the world.
0:14.0	I'm John Batchel.
0:15.0	Jeff Bliss is Pacific Watch.
0:16.6	We go immediately to Las Vegas,
0:18.8	the Las Vegas Report.
0:20.4	Jeff, who is Mr. Hornbuckle?
0:22.5	And what does he say about nickel and diming in Vegas that cost millions of dollars
0:27.8	of lost revenue?
0:29.0	Good evening to you.
0:30.4	Good evening, John.
0:31.4	Bill Hornbuckle is president and CEO of MGM Resorts, which is one of the, really,
0:36.9	the two big monsters in Vegas, the other
0:39.7	being Caesars. They own several properties beyond their eponymously named Hotel and Resort,
0:46.7	the MGM Grand. And so he was in a discussion the other day talking about what's going on,
0:52.8	what's wrong about Vegas these days?
0:55.0	And he said, quote, when we think about pricing and things that got everyone's attention,
0:59.3	whether it's the infamous $26 bottle of water or Starbucks coffee at Excalibur, which is one of the
1:05.6	lower end hotels for $12. Shame on us. We should have been more sensitive to the overall
1:10.4	experience here in Vegas.
1:12.6	And what he was trying to point out is that, you know, Vegas has always looked at the whales,
	...

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