The PGA of America's nonrefundable $5 fee for fans to
have their name entered in a drawing to become eligible to
purchase tickets for the '99 Ryder Cup in Brookline, MA, is
"unusual in the ticket business" and local experts disagree
on whether the PGA is "running what amounts to an illegal
lottery," according to Mohl & Wen of the BOSTON GLOBE's
"Consumer Beat" column. MA Attorney General officials said
they don't think the PGA ticket-selling system is an illegal
lottery, although one AG office official said the PGA is
operating in a "gray area." PGA execs said this is the
"first time they have imposed a nonrefundable processing
fee, which they say is needed to cover costs of
telemarketers, phone lines, credit card processing and
mailings to notify entrants whether they were selected."
Only 10,000 of the event's 30,000 tickets will be available
to the public. The PGA started taking entries on June 8,
and in the first week, it received more than 30,000
applications and netted $150,000. If "that pace were to
continue" through August 31, the PGA would collect 360,000
entrants and $1.8M in application fees. The final drawing
will be held in September (BOSTON GLOBE, 7/26).
