Fans beat odds for tickets to Jackson rite

LOS ANGELES — Like a modern-day Willy Wonka tale, fans celebrated Sunday after beating the odds to win coveted tickets to Michael Jackson's memorial service at Staples Center.

More than 1.6 million fans registered online for free in the random drawing of only 8,750 names. Each person selected will receive two tickets to Tuesday's memorial. The odds of getting a ticket were about 1 in 183.

"I'm in shock that it has happened," said Deka Motanya, 27, of San Francisco. "It's surreal." She received an e-mail message at 4:35 p.m. notifying her, "Congratulations, your application was successful."

David Gobaud, 25, who studies computer science at Stanford University, said he didn't believe his e-mail was real at first. "It's Michael Jackson, one of the greatest musical stars of all time," he said.

Another winner was Zach Moss, a 21-year-old Chicagoan working for the summer as a DJ in Las Vegas. He said clubgoers have responded strongly to Jackson's music since his death.

"You can play two, three Michael Jackson songs back to back and people are going to have this huge jubilation celebration," he said. "Everyone throws their drinks up and shouts, 'MJ!' It's extremely powerful."

The tickets will admit 11,000 people to the Staples Center plus 6,500 in the Nokia Theater overflow section next door. The streets around Staples Center will be closed to prevent those without tickets from trying to attend, police said Sunday.

Assistant Police Chief Jim McDonnell warned the ticketless to stay away: "You'll be standing in the hot sun on a city street with a lot of other people ... but not within eyeshot of Staples."

The ceremony will not be shown on Staples' giant outdoor TV screen and there will be no funeral procession through the city. No details were available about the actual memorial events.

Jackson's family was planning a private ceremony at the Forest Lawn cemetery in the Hollywood Hills, McDonnell said. He did not provide further details.

At the Wilshire Grand Los Angeles hotel about a half mile from the Staples Center, more than 90 percent of the hotel's 1,000 rooms were booked for Monday and Tuesday night, up from about 60 percent last week.

"There's a lot of demand right now," said spokesman Marc Loge. "We are going to sell out."

Ticket winners said they received a unique code and instructions to pick up their tickets Monday at Dodger Stadium.

When they pick up their tickets, a wristband will be placed on their wrists. To prevent ticket scalping, fans must have both the ticket and the wristband to enter Staples Center on Tuesday. Wristbands that have been ripped, taped or tampered with will be voided.