What Would Rob Do to Score a Hot Ticket?

Washington, DC is now full of excitement for an event that's a good two and half months away: the inauguration of our 44th president, Barack Obama. Maybe you're thinking it would be great to come see the historic moment in person and maybe you've heard that tickets are actually free. But wait a second because it might not be that easy.

Hotels have already sold out, ballrooms booked, and there's even a new market out there for DC residents to offer up their homes for the event. One listing on Craigslist had three nights at a Georgetown house going for $15,000! In case you're wondering, the Sachs family abode will not be available. There's no amount of money that's worth the headache my wife and I would endure if we messed with our nine month old's sleep schedule for three nights.

But the real bonanza here is not the rental market, it's the ticket market, and money is not the impediment, since these tickets are free. The catch is you have to get them from your local congressman or senator, and tickets are limited. They only have a couple of hundred each to give out.

Lawmakers like Senator Diane Feinstein (D-Cal.) are seeking to make scalping inauguration tickets illegal. But if you think snagging a ticket is just as easy as making a phone call, think again. DC Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton was on Tell Me More today and she said that ticket calls had virtually shut down her office. She's already received over 10,000 calls about tickets and is just telling everyone the same thing, "we have no information yet."

To investigate what's likely to happen, I called up Seth Joseph, the Vice President of Stellar Tickets based in Philadelphia. The company saw a similar spike in demand for tickets to the the World Series this year, with tickets to some of those games going for as much as $3,000 (worth it for some to see their beloved Phillies clinch the title). Joseph told me that even if legal brokers like Stellar Tickets are barred from selling inauguration tickets, that doesn't mean it will be impossible to find a ticket, or that money won't help you. He told me he's "never seen an event where you've not been able to get tickets outside on the street."

The way I see it, with 240,000 tickets being distributed, there's bound to be someone looking to make a little money. Someone's brother or aunt is going to get sick that day so they'll show up carrying around an extra ticket. You might get lucky and find someone not trying to make a buck, who'll be willing to just give away the ticket. You could also go Dead Head style and show up to the inauguration in a tie dye shirt and walk around holding up your finger while you say I need a miracle. But somehow divine intervention doesn't always happen exactly when we need it.

Joseph says that while it would be great for the inauguration to be filled with Average Joes (Six Pack, Plumber, etc.) that's probably not likely. Even someone who's not cynical about politics recognizes that the law of "what-have-you-done-for-me-lately?" usually prevails. But Joseph says this is just the way of life, whether it's money or connections or whatever, there are always the haves and have-nots.

"Most of events are like that, not everybody can get a Superbowl ticket. I've wanted to go the Superbowl my entire life and I've never been and that's just the way it is. Some events are just out of reach, so to say."

So if you can't get into the inauguration, know that you're not alone, and its not just you who will be watching this one from home, to be sure, with so few tickets available many of those DC insiders who are busy calling in favors are going to get snubbed right along with you.

As for me, I knew I could never afford that World Series ticket, but I could afford a train ticket up to the parade that followed the win. It was a blast, and the costs were minimal. So if you want to celebrate Obama, come on down to DC and join the party. Just don't cause a ruckus near my house, I've got a baby sleeping.

3:15 PM ET | 11-14-2008 | permalink

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