Beating the odds

I pounced on the opportunity to enter the lottery to get a pair of tickets to the memorial for Michael Jackson on Tuesday at Staples Center.

Whether I attend the event depends on two things: one, that my name will be one of the 8,750 selected to receive tickets –as of Friday evening, more than 500,000 names had been registered– and two, that my employer's bereavement leave policy will let me skip work on Tuesday.

Anyone with an email address and a phone number has an equal shot at acquiring a pair of tickets as long as they enter before 6 p.m. Saturday. The Jackson camp should have required lottery entrants to field a quiz question or two to separate bona fide fans from those who think "Billie Jean" is a song about tennis and that Captain Eo is a character in Moby-Dick.

I think my fan credentials are sturdy but not solid. I rushed out to buy HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book One on the day it was released in 1995, but I never summoned the courage to pick up Invincible, not even when I saw it marked down to $2.99.

So in the unlikely event that I am randomly selected to score a pair of tickets to Tuesday's memorial, I'll have mixed feelings about sitting in a seat that might have been occupied by a more loyal fan.

I'll make up for that by making sure that my second ticket is used by someone who adores Michael but doesn't have a ticket of his own.

Anyone know how to get in touch with Bubbles?