Ticket brokers hedging bets, putting money on Astros in Game 6
In case you missed this fascinating ESPN.com story that first appeared Monday, let me point it out to you. The upshot: Ticket brokers, who have control over a lot of the World Series tickets at Dodger Stadium, are placing big bets in Las Vegas on the Astros for Game 6 — hedging against the possibility that the tickets they hold for Game 7, which they can sell on the secondary market for $2,000 apiece, will be worthless if the series ends tonight.
The logic is simple: If the Astros win, the brokers who made large wagers on Houston will at least recoup some of the money lost on a series with no Game 7. If the Dodgers win, they lose their bets but get to rake in the profits from tickets sold for a winner-take-all series finale.
This is necessary and possible because, per the report:
“Sources tell ESPN that brokers own roughly 15,000 tickets for each World Series game at Dodgers Stadium. The Dodgers sell more season tickets to brokers than any other franchise in Major League Baseball, sources said. The season ticket allows the brokers to also purchase a commensurate amount of postseason tickets.”
So either way, those who gobble up tickets and resell them at astronomical prices are going to make money. Enjoy the game!