Scalping is pretty commonplace at sporting events. Scalping, though, is not something you typically see at poker tournaments, but lo and behold, that is exactly what was going on this weekend for the first event at the Most people who bought into Event #1 directly were not going to resell their tickets; they bought them because they wanted to play and that was that. The big problem, according to PokerNews, was with people who won seats via satellites.
All entry cards are fully transferable, so many satellite winners immediately sold their cards in order to turn a quick profit. There is nothing wrong with this practice in a vacuum – satellite winners can make some money, while the purchaser can typically buy into the tournament at a discount (word is that $1,050 for an entry card that normally costs $1,100 was a common price).
The problem at Fallsview was that each day was capped at 500 entrants. Thus, when the tournament sold out, people could resell entry cards for much higher than face value. If it happened a few times, no big deal, but what was apparently going on was that scalpers who had no intention of playing were specifically buying tickets from satellite winners, waiting for the event to sell out, and then taking advantage of latecomers by selling the tickets at inflated prices. PokerNews reports that 
2014 World Series of Poker Asia-Pacific Main Event champion Scott Davies (pictured) reported that he was being asked to pay $1,500 to $1,600 for a ticket. Posting on Two Plus Two under the screen name “miamicane,” Davies expressed his disgust:
“Pretty awful that the casino creates perfect conditions for the scalpers. They cap the number of entries, let people buy multiple fully-transferable tickets, and then don’t take any alternates the day of the event. So, it essentially cuts off the supply at the same moment demand peaks, creating a black market. It literally brings out all of the bottom-of-the-barrel scum of the earth to the poker area. These guys show up the day of the event with heaps of tickets and no intention of ever playing the event. I can’t believe the casino allows these guys to do business in their casino; they are as obvious as ticket scalpers at a sporting event/concert, and just as sleazy.”
What do you think? Is there anything wrong with ticket scalping in poker? Comment here and let us know.
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