| Salt Lake City |
 |
 |
| GER |
12 |
16 |
7 |
35 |
 |
| USA |
10 |
13 |
11 |
34 |
|
| NOR |
11 |
7 |
6 |
24 |
|
| CAN |
6 |
3 |
8 |
17 |
|
| RUS |
6 |
6 |
4 |
16 |
|
| AUT |
2 |
4 |
10 |
16 |
|
| ITA |
4 |
4 |
4 |
12 |
|
| FRA |
4 |
5 |
2 |
11 |
|
| SUI |
3 |
2 |
6 |
11 |
|
| NED |
3 |
5 |
0 |
8 |
|
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Oly ticket traders keep action brisk
By Joe Bauman
Deseret News staff writer
An impromptu street bazaar opened for business Friday at the corner of Second South and Main streets.
The wares? Tickets to the hottest — or coldest, depending on your perspective — event in town: opening ceremonies and other sporting contests at the 2002 Winter Games.
Scalpers and non-ticket holders alike wandered the streets, doing business, hawking and snapping up Olympic tickets.
Surprisingly, some of the best tickets — like $885 ducats for opening ceremonies — were going for far less than face value.
Perhaps dealers in this legal enterprise had speculated in block purchases and were now desperate to sell them.
"It's up and down right now," says one man of the ticket market. He says the Deseret News could call him "Mr. Hollywood," and that he is from the San Francisco Bay area.
"It's below face value for Category A's or B's for opening ceremonies." These were going for about $500, he says.
Why? "Interest and demand, you know? Hard to sell. They're not as popular as it could be."
Waldo Diaz, an Olympic visitor from New York City, says he wants tickets to the mogul skiing events, both men's and women's.
"I flew in from New York City. I have a friend of mine, Jeremy Bloom, who's on the men's moguls team and we're trying to get tickets to the event," he says.
Since this is one of the more popular events, $95 tickets were going for $200 to $300. "I'm trying to get it as close to face (value) as possible," Diaz adds.
Jay Barton, who identifies himself as a diamond dealer from Salt Lake City, notes that he is looking for all sorts of tickets.
"I just do this for the fun of it," he says.
"You know what? I just love the rush of the Olympics and enjoying the people." When he was a kid, he used to sell soft drinks at the Delta Center, and he reckoned sales are in his blood.
"But I've been turnin' tickets all day long and I'm up about $3,000 or $4,000," Barton says.
"And I'm doing it for my family, too. I was able to pick up two tickets, two hockey tickets for 25 bucks apiece — face value was 95. So, 50 bucks out of $200."
Michael Young, of St. Louis, worried that by publicizing the sidewalk-based ticket sales, "you're going to scare 'em off."
E-mail: bau@desnews.com
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February 9, 2002
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