August 2013

Event Center SF City Council Sioux Falls

Is ‘Ticket Scalping’ a problem in Sioux Falls? And should it be illegal?

l3wis August 12, 2013 23Comments

Take a look at Item #5 on the city council meeting agenda for tomorrow night. (Sponsored by the Mayor & Finance Department);

Sale of tickets at more than face value prohibited.

(a) It shall be unlawful for any person to intentionally resell or offer to resell a ticket of admission to any sporting event, theatre, music hall, or other place of public entertainment, amusement, or instruction (collectively the â€œeventâ€) to which tickets of admission are offered for sale to the general public at a price greater than that charged at the place of admission or printed on the ticket, unless authorized in subsections (b) or (c) below. For purposes of this section, â€œresellâ€ or â€œattempt to resellâ€ shall mean to solicit for resale and shall include any sale or attempted sale subsequent to the initial offer to the public.

I am on the fence on this one. First off, I didn’t realize this was a ‘problem’ in Sioux Falls. I am also curious why the mayor is pushing this. I am curious if this has anything to do with the new EC, and contracts with SMG or Ovation? It may also be a suggestion by Legends. Not sure, hopefully we will get more details tomorrow.

The reason I am on the fence about this, because, believe it or not, I am all for the FREE market. If I buy a used car for $1000, fix it up for another $200 then sell it for $1600, am I considered a ‘car scalper’? If someone buys a ticket, or several tickets to a popular show that they know will sell out, what is the problem with profiting from re-selling those tickets for more? All we need to do is look at check cashing places, credit card companies and VL casinos in this state. They all make HUGE profits on ‘re-selling’ something at an enormous rate.

It will be interesting to hear Turbak’s explanation on this one. Hopefully he will let the council ask ‘pertinent’ questions that he will answer 🙂

Secretary of State

AL’s editorial on GANT; Too Little, Too Late (H/T – Helga)

l3wis August 12, 2013 1Comments

It only took the AL’s ED boardÂ about a year and a half to figure out what kind of scoundrel Jason Gant is, then they decide to give him a free pass;

Under the circumstances, it might be tempting to ask for his resignation. But the reality is, with little more than a year left on his term, the ramifications of pushing such an agenda would be nastier than our state can tolerate.

Our recommendation: Grit our teeth until his term expires while urging him to not seek re-election, and watch him like a hawk.

WhyÂ fire a guy who has screwed up numerous times, just give him another year to doÂ more damage, it is only the whole state who suffers under his stupidity. The last sentence boggles the mind;

It is hard to know how such people ever get in office in the first place.

It’s theÂ AL who endorses these clowns in the first place, then when they F’ck up, they trash them in an editorial, then tell the public we just have to put up with them for another year or so. Enough already. All the editorial boards in the state need to call for Gant’s resignation.

Hey, Sue Roust, looking for another part-time gig until next November?

Mayor Hubris Mayor Subprime Mike Huether Mike Huether