WINTER OLYMPICS : Notes

Americans were apparently more willing to buy scalped hockey tickets than Canadians. Before the Canada-Soviet Union hockey game, ticket-scalpers weren’t getting rich.

The tickets were selling anywhere from below face value up to $150 a seat. One reason the tickets weren’t fetching higher prices was because so many were available. Another factor seemed to be that the American team wasn’t playing.

“It’s a bomb,” said a scalper with a fistful of tickets. “Canadians aren’t willing to pay.”

Scalping tickets is illegal here, but some sellers are getting around the law by selling pins and flags for $150 apiece and throwing in a pair of hockey tickets.

Times staff writer Randy Harvey contributed to this story.