To avoid the frowned-upon practice of reselling free tickets to Shakespeare in the Park, some enterprising New York City scalpers have decided to instead sell their spots in the long lines for the free tickets. According to a report in the New York Daily News, “line sitters” have been shopping their services for years and have placed ads on Craigslist, charging as much as $125 for them to wait in line for tickets. This summer, Al Pacino is starring in a version of the “Merchant of Venice,” which has heighted interest in the practice because the lines for free tickets are longer. Ticket resell for an amount above $2 over the ticket’s face value is currently illegal in the state, as legislators grapple with making some changes to the law, and the selling of free tickets is considered particularly egregious. But, selling spots in lines is a gray area and not considered illegal. However, the organizers of the annual Shakespeare performances are on the look out for the scalpers, taking note of people who repeatedly show up in line.

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