Everyone Wants To Be In Washington On Inauguration Day. Little do they know it will be HELL and Expensive.

Luxist has the skinny on ticket scalping for the Inauguration below.

This year's hottest ticket in town isn't the Super Bowl, it's the Presidential Inauguration on January 20, 2009. Yes, tickets are technically free and handed out a week before the event but that hasn't stopped the sale of tickets. Some people who already know they will be getting a ticket are selling them to brokers. StubHub.com already lists tickets to the parade, the swearing-in ceremony and the inaugural gala for several thousand dollars each.

U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. has spoken out against ticket selling, expressing fears that people could be swindled. Members of Congress are giving away 240,000 tickets. Jackson's office will have around 400 tickets and will distribute the bulk of them to the public, first come, first serve which is the policy of most of the elected officials with tickets. The offices of senators and representatives are said to be flooded with constituents asking for tickets. Of course this varies by region. This might be a time to find your friend in Wyoming or Alabama or other traditionally Republican areas and ask if they can request tickets for you since there may be less of a mad rush there. You can also discreetly inquire through various concierge services. They may not advertise tickets but especially if you are already a customer, they may be able to offer you some assistance.

California Senator Dianne Feinstein is said to be considering legislation to make it illegal to scalp tickets to the event following the news that a pair of tickets sold for $10,858 each through Stub Hub. As with any other prized events, there always three main ways of going about things: the persistence approach which mainly relies on luck and standing for hours in the right place, using your connections or spending a boatload of money. If you happen to have the third option there are also plenty of ultra-pricey inauguration packages. None of them come with tickets to the swearing-in ceremony but they do give you a chance to celebrate in style.