Word: scalper
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Responsible for trapping Tyson were officials of the city's Department of Licenses, which fights a losing game against the gougers. Rarely can a scalper be caught in the act. And Manhattan showgoers, more interested in aisle seats than public morals, seem eager to support the hijacker when the law is not looking...
...enough good seats, the scalper has to tap several sources. He has friends mail in for tickets for potential hits, buys other tickets through theater benefits, paying the steep benefit markup. He also buys directly from the box office or from reputable brokers, often luring assistants to help him, since his money still speaks louder than the New York Department of Licenses, which has fruitlessly tried to end illegal ticket practices. Some small-timers find it profitable to sell their position in line for My Fair Lady's 30 standing-room tickets a day for as much...
...Necessary Evil. The fact that so many shows are sold out for months in advance to benefit theater parties makes it easier for the scalper to operate, since the parties drastically curtail the supply of available tickets. In its first 3½ months, for example, 54 out of the 120 Fair Lady performances were completely sold out to benefit parties. At the non-benefit performances, 80% of the balcony and 20% of the orchestra seats are sold through direct-mail requests. At best, the 70-odd licensed ticket brokers divide up the remaining 650 orchestra seats, are legally entitled...
...crowd was filing through the colonnades of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club when a ticket scalper spotted a possible customer heading for the main gate. Behind his dark sunglasses, the squat little man looked like a London clerk who had slipped away from the office to watch the finals of the 1954 Wimbledon tennis championships...
...Center court seat, sir?" whispered the scalper...