As always, in this blog, I write about how I begged, bought, received for free or used my season ticket to gain entry into a game. Some of these experiences are lucky, some are random, some are typical and some plain boring – however, whenever I receive a free ticket or buy a $100 ticket for $20, most people do not believe it.

Last night was one of the random experiences. For this Blackhawks season, I have adopted the general rule that I would rather spend $25 on a SRO ticket from the box office and find a seat in the United Center rather than try to match that price on the street – paying $25 on the street is a difficult feat this season.

I used this rule tonight. With the cheapest box office non-SRO seats priced at $50, I figured I would buy the SRO and find a seat to save myself $25 and the hassle of negotiating with scalpers. As I entered the building, the ticket scanner lady asked me if I was by myself. I answered “yes” and she handed me a second ticket – a seat in 331, row 14. Not much better than SRO, but a seat nonetheless.

It is not often that you ever get a deal from the ticket scanner as you walk through the gate. Free ticket no, but random yes.

Parking Tip at the United Center
This season I have parked for free on the city streets surrounding the United Center. Tonight I parked on the corner of Washington Blvd. and Paulina St.