Jul 8, 2008 7:34 pm US/Eastern
Sellers Asking $1,500 For 'Free' Bon Jovi Tickets
MLB All-Star Game Show On Central Park's Great Lawn Turning Into Scalpfest As Ducats Inundate Internet
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
Bon Jovi's concert in Central Park this Saturday is free. But that isn't stopping some scalpers from selling seats for as much as $1,500 a pair -- despite a warning they cannot be re-sold.
Fans lined up for hours to get their hands on those tickets, some 60,000 of them for this weekend's show on the Great Lawn as part of the Major League Baseball All-Star game festivities.
But now, those same tickets are showing up for sale on the Internet, and there's not much the city can do about it.
It is shaping up to be a summer blockbuster. New Jersey's own Jon Bon Jovi says the free concert in Central Park is his way of giving back to the town he loves.
"I just got back from overseas and New York City is the best city in the world," Bon Jovi said recently.
Fans waited for hours to score the free tickets – two to a customer – but now some of those who got the freebies are looking to cash in, selling the ducats on sites like eBay – tickets that were free now going for hundreds of dollars. And it's all legal.
Though the tickets clearly state, "Sale of this ticket is absolutely prohibited," the warning seems to carry no teeth. New York State law does not prohibit the reselling of tickets prior to a show.
"It is not against the law, but it's against the spirit of a free concert, so we're very disappointed that it is happening," said George Fertitta of NYC & Company
One ticket seller CBS 2 HD spoke with explained why he's doing it.
"It's a good way to make extra money, a good way with very little effort," "Matt" said.
NYC and Company says they are asking eBay and craigslist to remove the postings but admits it's out of their hands. And on Tuesday some people near the site of Saturday's show are crying foul.
"There's no reason to make money on it when they're trying to give back to the city," said Kerry Turner of the Upper West Side.
"It's not very honest," said Jerry Tomberford of Dublin. "I think if Mr. Bon Jovi wouldn't be giving the concert for free, if he wanted the tickets to be resold, so its offsite, way off site."
But others simply blame those who are willing to buy.
"That person has to have the sense not to give them the money," one New Yorker said. "That person who is giving them the money is idiotic."
A spokesman for Bon Jovi said that the concert is the singer's gift to the city and they do not approve of the resale of the tickets.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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