Jul 6, 2009 12:28 pm US/Eastern
Jackson Memorial Tix Selling For More Than $10,000
Free Tickets Offered Up For Thousands Of Dollars On Internet Auction Site eBay; One Vendor Has $53,000 Price Tag
LOS ANGELES (CBS) ―
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Michael Jackson memorial tickets are being sold for thousands of dollars.
AP
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The Staples Center which is one of the possible locations for a public memorial service for music legend Michael Jackson, after his recent death, in Los Angeles on July 1, 2009.
Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images
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The tickets aren't golden, but some Michael Jackson fans who've been granted passes to the memorial tribute on Tuesday at Staples Center in Los Angeles are looking to turn them into gold bars.
While most fans who got tickets were elated that they've gotten the chance to say goodbye to the King of Pop, others are simply trying to turn a profit. Ticket vouchers are up for sale for more than $10,000 online.
Joe Langer and Paul Pagnini were lucky enough to a win pair. They told "Early Show" weather anchor and features reporter Dave Price they just decided to take their chances, and "never in a million years," according to Pagnini, thought they would be chosen, out of the more than 1.5 million people organziers say sought them online.
But they were.
"We were watching like everybody else when the (Jackson) family decided to open it up to the public with this lottery and went online, like probably millions of people, and just decided to take our chances," Pagnini said, "It just came true."
But many hopefuls didn't receive the free tickets. For those who missed out, the tickets now have a hefty price tag attached: In online marketplaces, such as eBay, tickets now costing as much as $20,000. One online vendor offered tickets at a "Buy It Now" price of $52,999.99.
"It's not really in the spirit of what Michael Jackson would have liked," Langer said. "He's about love, and, I think, realness. ... Selling these tickets on eBay for thousands of dollars certainly isn't fair."
Pagnini agreed, adding the event is supposed to be about honoring Jackson's life, not in profiting from his death.
Both Langer and Pagnini are longtime fans of Jackson.
Langer said he saw the "The Jackson 5" perform when he was six years old.
"Michael Jackson and the Jacksons have been a part of my life ever since," he said.
Langer said what drew many people to Jackson was his ability to reach people across the spectrum of life experience.
"He's transcended gender and religion and race," Langer told Price. "That was the magic of Michael Jackson. He was really able to touch anybody, young or old. There was something about his music that really touched people."
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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