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Tourists Conned Out Of Hundreds Of Dollars In Times Square NYE Ticket Scam
By
Miranda Katz
Published Jan 11, 2016
Modified Jan 11, 2016
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Scott Lynch/Gothamist
By
Miranda Katz
Published Jan 11, 2016
Modified Jan 11, 2016
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As if you needed another reason to avoid Times Square on New Year's Eve, the New York Times has uncovered a forgery scheme by several ticket-sellers in the area who tricked tourists into coughing up money for a guaranteed view of the ball drop. From LOL Times Square Comedy Club to Sbarro pizza, the conspiracy apparently flummoxed law enforcement, which had to deal with hordes of people expecting to be let past police barricades.
The protagonists of the Times' story are the five members of the Judson family, a group from Rochester that came to Times Square early on December 31st expecting to wait in a holding pen for some dozen hours until the ball drop. But they were quickly intercepted by people holding signs that promised "Ball Drop Access," selling tickets for LOL Comedy Club, on 7th Avenue between 47th and 48th streets. For $75 each, the Judsons were told, they'd be guaranteed a great view of the ball drop — though as noted plainly on their tickets and pointed out later by the club's owner, the club itself does not have any windows, and that view would only be attained by peeking out the front door.
The Judsons weren't alone in jumping at the opportunity to spend the evening warmly indoors with some modicum of personal space: the hawkers sold "stacks" of tickets, the Times reports, a number of which were counterfeit.
As the club owner, Roy Arias, told the Times, the people selling tickets on the street were not his employees, but rather bought up tickets to resell at a higher price. Tickets to LOL Comedy Club typically run at $30 if bought directly off the club's website, which also stated clearly that the New Year's Eve event would offer "2 glasses of champagne and the opportunity to watch a live telecast of the ball drop" — hardly the guaranteed ball drop access the ticket sellers had promised. LOL indeed.
A similar scheme was afoot at the nearby Sbarro on 49th Street, where grifters were selling hundreds of $50 tickets to a nonexistent party. And then there were the even more obscene ticket sales by other Times Square joints like Olive Garden and Ruby Tuesday, where prices ranged from $400 to $1700 and similarly did not guarantee a view of the ball drop.
Realizing the scam at hand, police stopped letting people past the barricades into the comedy club. Those who were initially let in did not stay long: the Judsons, after paying $50 for a round of drinks, left and were let into the very holding pens they'd tried to avoid. And it only cost them $425. Welcome to New York!
Tagged
comedy
new year's eve
scam
Times Square
Miranda Katz
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