Believe lottery -- not scalpers -- for inauguration tickets
Barack Obama fans hopeful of attending his inauguration will have to rely on good fortune rather than their actual fortune as the quest for tickets may now become a federal case.
Staffers for 14th District Congressman Bill Foster said support is building for legislation that would make scalping inauguration tickets a federal crime. That's bad news for anyone placing bids on the tickets at popular resale Web sites.
On Wednesday afternoon, Stubhub.com still had tickets going for $1,250 each. Other sites like inauguraltickets.com and greatseats.com didn't have price tags attached to the tickets, only promises of refunds if they were unable to fill an order.
"That's a total scam," warned Foster spokeswoman Shannon O'Brien. "The fact is, nobody has tickets right now. Even we don't actually get them until a week or two before. You can't buy them, period."
Actually, it may still be possible to get some scalped tickets, but it won't be easy. All congressmen and senators are being encouraged to only make tickets available in person, in their Washington, D.C., offices, to constituents who provide a photo ID and phone number. That means the only legit scalped tickets may not be available and deliverable unless you are in Washington just days before the actual inauguration.
Scalping Web sites, like Craigslist, are already catching on. Inauguration ticket advertisements are being deleted, but replaced by those hocking hotel rooms in the D.C. area.
Instead, Foster, like many federal elected officials, will hold a lottery to determine which of his constituents get tickets. All congressmen get the same allotment of 198 tickets. Foster will give an undetermined chunk of those to "community leaders" and people who actively campaigned for Obama. The rest will be allotted to constituents in packages of two by luck of the draw. His office has already received more than 650 requests. The deadline for entering the lottery is Friday, Dec. 12.
Residents of the 14th District can enter Foster's lottery by calling 1-866-777-6670 or by sending an e-mail to: Foster.inauguration@mail.house.gov.