Attorney General's office sues online ticket broker

ST. LOUIS -- Missouri's top law enforcer sued an online ticket broker Thursday, accusing the business of illegally reselling St. Louis Cardinals playoffs tickets for far more than face value.

Attorney General Jay Nixon asked a judge to bar Show-Me Tickets Inc. from further "scalping" any of the more than 2,800 tickets he alleges the broker "hijacked" to profit off of Cardinals fans.

Nixon alleges that the broker violated consumer protection laws by misrepresenting to consumers it was legal to sell the tickets for more than face value.

The lawsuit came a day after Show-Me Tickets allegedly sold to undercover investigators two bleacher seats for Game 1 of the NL Divisional Series for $70 apiece. The face value of each ticket -- sold through the broker's Web site -- was $19.

The lawsuit accuses Show-Me Tickets, which claims to have access to 2,863 tickets for postseason games this year in St. Louis, of engaging in unfair business practices by violating a Missouri law barring the scalping of tickets to public sporting events.

"The market for tickets has been thrown out of whack by brokers who gobble up large numbers of tickets and resell them on the Internet," Nixon said. "With this one broker alone having control of more than 2,800 tickets for Cardinals postseason games, the average fan has lost his last chance at affordable tickets."

On its Web site Thursday, Show-Me Tickets touted itself as a licensed broker and a member of the Better Business Bureau, insisting "we have designed the site to help you save as much time and money as possible when you are buying premium and hard-to-find tickets."

Still, the Web site and recorded messages on its telephone order line note that "tickets are sold for more than face value."

But elsewhere on its Web site, Show-Me Tickets insists that "we don't sell tickets for St. Louis Cardinals or any other Missouri events."

A message left with Show-Me Tickets was not returned.

A St. Louis Circuit Court hearing on Nixon's lawsuit is scheduled for Friday, with Nixon asking that anyone who bought a ticket from Show-Me Tickets above the ticket's face value get restitution for the difference.

Nixon also cautioned Cardinals fans about the potential of buying counterfeit tickets, particularly online where the tickets are bought sight unseen.