This is an area where we admittedly have little personal experience, so we're posting the good question and sketchy answer in the hopes that a QoDer or two has some first-hand advice about buying scalped tickets in today's age of the multi-billion-dollar secondary ticket market through sites like StubHub.
First, we can say that paper tickets are easy to counterfeit and we've heard many stories about people getting ripped off by scalpers selling phony tickets that don't pass the scanning test at the door. Any legitimate paper-ticket reseller outside an event should be willing to accompany the buyer to the venue entrance to guarantee the ticket.
Second, we've also heard stories about people waiting outside the venues on their phones until StubHub dropped its ticket prices as the event got closer, then scooped them and walked right in.
Alternatively, though the event might be advertised as sold-out, sometimes it isn't really, for any number of reasons, and the venue's box office has tickets to get rid of just before the show starts. We wouldn't recommend relying on that for a big night out where your date is hot to see an act, but it's worth a try if it's just you, or a buddy or two, hoping to catch a show on the cheap.
Speaking of you and a buddy or two, Pat Christenson, author of our book Rock Vegas--Live Music Explodes in the Neon Desert and an expert on these matters, tells us, "You have a much better chance if you're looking for a single ticket." If you're alone, or you and buddies want to see the show and don't mind not sitting together, or if you don't mind sitting with the guy who sells you the ticket (oftentimes not a scalper, but a ticket holder whose date or friend had to cancel), you'll have more of a shot.
Pat continues, "I would scour the secondary ticket companies. Typically, the ticket is high when it goes on sale and if the event sells out, the ticket will stay high. But if demand falls off, the ticket price drops. You can find the best prices in front of the venues."
In terms of T-Mobile in particular, there are multiple entrances: the main entrance accessed from Toshiba Plaza, the VIP entrance on the north side of T-Mobile across from Park MGM's parking garage, a VIP entrance into the suites from a bridge that connects to T-Mobile from the NY-NY parking garage, and a separate entrance on the north side of T-Mobile just past the team store. As Pat (and common sense) says, the main entrance is best, as that's how most people enter and those without tickets would be out there looking to buy.
We also asked Joe Pane, author of our book Vegas Golden Knights and hockey season-ticket holder, what he's experienced in his dozens of trips through the T-Mobile gates. He responded, "From what I've observed, I've never seen actual human ticket sellers. Almost 100% of the tickets are virtual. Most people looking to buy tickets at a reduced price are in Toshiba Plaza, checking the secondary ticket market, as the asking prices are reduced minutes before the game starts."
Anyone else care to chime in on the subject?
