THE TICKET SCALPER

When I was 15 years old, I got a job working with a guy who owned hotdog carts. These hotdog carts were located in center city (Franklin Institute), South Philly (The Spectrum), and West Philly (Philadelphia Zoo).

When I worked the hotdog cart in South Philly by the Spectrum, I couldn't help but notice these guys selling tickets to sporting events, concerts, etc. I was a curious kid, so I couldn't help myself to watching these scalpers sell tickets. One day my curiosity got the best of me and I observed a guy go to the front of the ticket office window and buy 4 tickets. He walked out into the parking lot and sold the tickets he had just purchased from the ticket window. When he came to the hotdog cart and payed me for a soda, I asked him how much did he sell those tickets for. He said he sold the tickets for $75.00 each. I asked him how much he payed for the tickets and he said, "I paid $22.50 each". Automatically, it didn't take long for me to realize that this guy just made a $210.00 profit, he purchased 4 tickets from the ticket window for $90.00, $22.50 each, and turned around and sold them for $75.00 each. That was the day I decided right then and there, that I was going to be a ticket scalper! That same day I told my boss that I don't want the hotdog cart job anymore and he just looked at me, not really concerned.

There was a Pink Floyd (sp) concert in Philly a week later. It was sold out! I asked another ticket scalper how we were supposed to get tickets if it's sold out? He told me to follow him and to pay attention. We walked into the parking lots asking bus drivers who had driven the buses to the concert if they had any extra tickets they were willing to sell. After a while, we found one bus driver who said he had 8 tickets, but he wanted $250.00 for the tickets. My friend gave him $250.00 for all 8 tickets. I gave my friend $125.00 for my half of the 8 tickets. So I got 4 tickets that I turned around and sold for $150.00 each! Making a $475.00 profit! After that, I was told by my friend that there's always people who aren't scalpers, who's willing to sell tickets. "You just have to buy at a low price and sell at an even higher price. Remember that young buck and you'll be alright," is what he said. A few months later I was at a sixers basketball game selling two tickets to a male and a female. They were acting a little strange, but I thought nothing of it. Once I showed the male my tickets and told him a price, he tackled me to the ground and arrested me! I had just had my first taste of being arrested as a ticket scalper. I was taken to the police station, given a citation and released the same day. I talked to other scalpers and they explained to me that that's normal to get locked up every now and then. You just have to be careful of who you sell tickets to. Months went by and I was able to buy a car. I was 16, with no license, driving around the beautiful city of Philadelphia! It was so amazing how I had been introduced to this world of ticket scalping that I never knew existed. When I turned 19, I found out that these scalpers also took their act on the road to New York (Giants Stadium), Baltimore (Camden Yards), Yankee Stadium, if it was big, they were there. Superbowl, Final Four basketball, World Series, etc., were all good events to scalp tickets. The key was to invest money and buy these tickets months before the event, then, the day of the event, sell the tickets for as much as you can get. I got $400.00 for a ticket for an Eric Clapton concert. I got $250.00 for a ticket to a college football at Veterans Stadium. These ticket scalpers came from all walks of life. One was a construction worker, one was going to medical school, one was even a drug dealer. No matter what they're occupation was, we were all alike when it came to ticket scalping! I still get goose bumps of excitement when I see a big concert or scalpers at those events doing what they do, scalp tickets. People in Nevada ask me all the time, "What's a kid from Philly doing in Vegas"? And all I think about is being a ticket scalper, traveling from city to city, if only they knew. [smiley face]