Maui

[JasonEvans]

So, here I am. I'll be on Maui, but am now starting to worry that I won't be able to get tickets.

Ordinarily I would suggest scalping from losing teams or fans who are only there to see their club... for example, hanging out after the Auburn-Xavier game to see if exiting fans will let you buy tickets to the Duke-SDSU game right after. But, I think you may have a problem with that. Zion Williamson.

I suspect folks are going to be so eager to see the second coming of the human highlight film^tm that they are not going to be eager to give up tickets to see the Blue Devils play. Sorry...

-Jason "I'm sure Dominique Wilkins will be fine with Zion stealing his title once he sees Zion play" Evans

[gam7]

Ordinarily I would suggest scalping from losing teams or fans who are only there to see their club... for example, hanging out after the Auburn-Xavier game to see if exiting fans will let you buy tickets to the Duke-SDSU game right after. But, I think you may have a problem with that. Zion Williamson.

I suspect folks are going to be so eager to see the second coming of the human highlight film^tm that they are not going to be eager to give up tickets to see the Blue Devils play. Sorry...

-Jason "I'm sure Dominique Wilkins will be fine with Zion stealing his title once he sees Zion play" Evans

Ugh, I know... Even setting aside Zion, the ticketing for this tournament (at least for the team booster tickets as I understand them) is going to make the usual NCAA tournament loser scalping strategy much less successful. The booster tickets are for all of your team's games regardless of when they are, rather than for a game at a particular time. And because each team is guaranteed three games, boosters probably won't be giving them up. And even if they did, it would be a ticket for that losing team's next game, regardless of time.

This is a really smart way to do it but you probably need a tiny venue like Maui for it to be feasible. It makes it more difficult for people in my position though. I didn't go to the PK80 tournament, but is this how the ticketing worked there?

[gam7]

Sorry all, just bumping the Maui thread to the first page.

Is this tournament really taking place in two weeks?

I am posting with an appeal to the board. I would love to purchase Duke booster package Maui tickets (up to 4 of them). If there are any DBR-ers with spare tickets that you need to dispose of, please DM me. Any leads would be much appreciated. If not, feel free to stop reading this post.

The background: I arranged for accommodations in Maui more than a year ago in anticipation of this tournament. When tickets went on sale through Duke, I was disappointed to learn that they could only be purchased as part of larger travel packages. I dutifully went to the Maui Invitational website in early August to try to purchase tickets the minute tickets went on sale to the general public, and those packages either completely sold out before being made available to the public, or were snapped up within seconds of going on sale.

I have been in periodic contact with the Iron Dukes office (I'm an Iron Duke) since February to check on whether there has been any update about standalone tickets. I am on the waitlist for four tickets. The Iron Dukes office has been extremely responsive, which I very much appreciate, but they still haven't been allocated any more standalone tickets from the tournament organizers.

Last week, I reached out to the tournament directly, and it does not sound as though any more tickets will be made available to the schools. (The person who emailed me said that there may be single game tickets that they'll offer for sale on Nov. 16, but those are "based on availability," and "will be EXTREMELY limited" (capitalization in original).

So, here I am. I'll be on Maui, but am now starting to worry that I won't be able to get tickets.

[BD80]

Sorry all, just bumping the Maui thread to the first page.

The "resale" market of tickets might have trended upward some over the last 16 or so hours.

[weezie]

I knew I should have sold that kidney.

[NSDukeFan]

Ordinarily I would suggest scalping from losing teams or fans who are only there to see their club... for example, hanging out after the Auburn-Xavier game to see if exiting fans will let you buy tickets to the Duke-SDSU game right after. But, I think you may have a problem with that. Zion Williamson.

I suspect folks are going to be so eager to see the second coming of the human highlight film^tm that they are not going to be eager to give up tickets to see the Blue Devils play. Sorry...

-Jason "I'm sure Dominique Wilkins will be fine with Zion stealing his title once he sees Zion play" Evans

I hope Zion is okay with Dominique having one of his titles before him.

[rasputin]

I knew I should have sold that kidney.

Well, to paraphrase Homer Simpson, you could sell one of your livers.

[nmbnancy]

We have bought the travel package through Anthony Travel. The Westin Maui Resort and Spa is undergoing major renovations and construction. Online reviews say that the construction was extremely disruptive to their stay. I contacted Anthony Travel with my concerns and they say everything will be fine.

Is anyone else worried about staying there ?

[alliecatdevil]

We are flying out Sunday--we are not doing the hotel route--instead rented a place on Air B/B. Staying for the week prior and then doing the tournament. We were able to get tickets on TicketsWest back in August--My hubby is an ISU alum, so we have two teams there. We are doing the 5 K that sunday prior, and the coaches luau sunday night too.
Are there any Duke activities that anyone knows of?

[nmduke2001]

We have bought the travel package through Anthony Travel. The Westin Maui Resort and Spa is undergoing major renovations and construction. Online reviews say that the construction was extremely disruptive to their stay. I contacted Anthony Travel with my concerns and they say everything will be fine.

Is anyone else worried about staying there ?

We got in via the waitlist (I was really upset, Anthony said I had plenty of time, a week later they were sold out but luckily I got in). Anyway, they put us next door in the Hyatt. We stayed at the Hyatt last time and it was great. One thing that made the Hyatt great was that Duke was there. We hung out with the team a bit and even had a few conversations with Coach. The team will be at the Westin with you this year, so that should be fun. Guess I won't get to share an elevator with Zion.

[nmbnancy]

We got in via the waitlist (I was really upset, Anthony said I had plenty of time, a week later they were sold out but luckily I got in). Anyway, they put us next door in the Hyatt. We stayed at the Hyatt last time and it was great. One thing that made the Hyatt great was that Duke was there. We hung out with the team a bit and even had a few conversations with Coach. The team will be at the Westin with you this year, so that should be fun. Guess I won't get to share an elevator with Zion.

Glad you are going to Maui !! We try to follow the Team whenever we can. I also love my elevator conversations with the players, you get to see the kid, not the player when just chatting in the elevator.

[-jk]

We have bought the travel package through Anthony Travel. The Westin Maui Resort and Spa is undergoing major renovations and construction. Online reviews say that the construction was extremely disruptive to their stay. I contacted Anthony Travel with my concerns and they say everything will be fine.

Is anyone else worried about staying there ?

Why would you spend time in the hotel - other than sleeping and breakfast?

-jk

[nmduke2001]

Glad you are going to Maui !! We try to follow the Team whenever we can. I also love my elevator conversations with the players, you get to see the kid, not the player when just chatting in the elevator.

Funny you mention that. I road on the elevator with Austin Rivers a few times. He was very pleasant and nice. My only strange interaction was with Tyler Thornton. He was in the elevator with Quinn and maybe Josh Hairston. I had my not yet 2 year old with me. Tyler was cussing up a storm. Quinn finally told him to stop because my daughter was in the elevator.

That year was cool because the NBA was on lock out. Steph Curry was there with his then fiancée and his parents. Doc Rivers was there too.

[madscavenger]

Earlier i mentioned that i was a little nervous about my purchase. i had received a purchase confirmation from Vivid Seats on August 5th which indicated an estimated shipping date of Ausgust 11th. Yesterday afternoon i received an email about that purchase, so i went to my account at Vivid Seats and discovered that the tickets are now expected to be sent by November 17th. By then i'll likely be in Hawaii and not home to sign off on the UPS delivery. i found comments online that cited similar experiences. Disconcerting? You betcha.

Well, i received emails saying my tickets will be shipped via UPS, instead of provided by local pickup as promised over the phone on two different occasions. Each time I spent more than a half hour kicking a brick wall, every volley responded to with the same nonvarying script. The latest notification came a little after 9am the morning after the Kentucky rout. If this isn't a scam, I don't know what is. There's no doubt about it; if i'm not home to sign for the UPS delivery, the package is not delivered. Then, its all over. Further updates will follow. Their ads claim they have an arrangement of some sort with Duke and other Universities and they advertise on goduke dot com . Cannot believe we would have not checked them out. …………………………………………………………….

[UrinalCake]

Well, i received emails saying my tickets will be shipped via UPS, instead of provided by local pickup as promised over the phone on two different.

Sounds like they’re sending you on a madscavenger hunt!

(Sorry, I couldn’t resist. I hope you get your tickets on time! Between this, C2C, and the Champions Classic, Duke’s ticketing office needs to get their act together!)

[budwom]

Well, i received emails saying my tickets will be shipped via UPS, instead of provided by local pickup as promised over the phone on two different occasions. Each time I spent more than a half hour kicking a brick wall, every volley responded to with the same nonvarying script. The latest notification came a little after 9am the morning after the Kentucky rout. If this isn't a scam, I don't know what is. There's no doubt about it; if i'm not home to sign for the UPS delivery, the package is not delivered. Then, its all over. Further updates will follow. Their ads claim they have an arrangement of some sort with Duke and other Universities and they advertise on goduke dot com . Cannot believe we would have not checked them out. …………………………………………………………….

I have learned over the years to NEVER get tickets through Duke...too much misinformation, too much genial incompetence...you simply can't count on them (by my experience and that of a few friends).

[rsvman]

Far be it from me to contradict the great Jason Evans, but if my memory serves, I believe they called Wilkins "The Human Highlight Reel," not the human highlight film.

I could be wrong, and I'm happy to be corrected if I am.

[JasonEvans]

Far be it from me to contradict the great Jason Evans, but if my memory serves, I believe they called Wilkins "The Human Highlight Reel," not the human highlight film.

I could be wrong, and I'm happy to be corrected if I am.

I always knew it as Human Highlight Film and I grew up in ATL as a 'Nique fan.

His Wiki page also refers to him as Film, not Reel.

[westwall]

I have learned over the years to NEVER get tickets through Duke...too much misinformation, too much genial incompetence...you simply can't count on them (by my experience and that of a few friends).

We are heading out to Maui this coming Tuesday, and to the Hyatt the following Sunday — but you are certainly correct in your above statement. I have a story of tha 1999 Final Four. We fortunately had made reservations at the Don Caesar in St. Pete Beach — where the team stayed. The Iron Dukes were housed somewhere in Tampa, miles away. We had a ball (dispite the loss) and I have stories— they don’t.

[madscavenger]

I have learned over the years to NEVER get tickets through Duke...too much misinformation, too much genial incompetence...you simply can't count on them (by my experience and that of a few friends).

They were bought from Vividseats, not from Duke. Have no experience getting tickets directly from Duke, but it is good to know what others have to say. Thanks.