WASHINGTON -- Already, 250,000 tickets have been printed for the January inauguration of Barack Obama.
It is the hottest ticket in town and it is free. At least, it's supposed to be.
Huge demand has turned what's traditionally a giveaway into a thriving online marketplace.
A quick search of the Internet found site after site -- many of them legitimate ticket brokers -- promising a view of Barack Obama being sworn in as the next president for a precious price.
Reserved, VIP tickets are being offered for sale at $20,377.
Howard Gantman is the senate staffer tasked with pulling off Washington's biggest event.
"We think it's absolutely insane to be selling those tickets. We understand some people want to try to make a buck, but for those people thinking of buying tickets, it's buyer beware," Gantman said.
Ticket brokers are middlemen -- selling tickets they say they buy from Capitol Hill staffers or people who get them free-of-charge through their members of Congress. But because those tickets are only given out at the last minute, Gantman said brokers can't be sure they will get as many as they've sold.
If you buy one, you could end up in a hotel room with nothing more than a refund.
"There are no tickets available now. The tickets will be distributed less than a week before the event. Congressional staffers caught selling theirs could be fired. We are going to be alerting all members of Congress that it's against the code of ethics for staff or for members to sell these tickets to the public," Gantman said.
But, ultimately, Gantman says, it's inevitable some will be sold, and some people will pay cutthroat prices to witness history.
For information on how to get free tickets to the inauguration, go to Inaugural.senate.gov/.
If you aren't traveling to the District of Columbia for the inauguration, be sure to tune o News 13 on Jan. 20 for President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration, live from our nation's capital.