Lottery Ticket Past-Date Question

[wolfwriter2]

Posted: 10/13/16 at 4:39pm

Curious if anyone has had experience past-dating a lottery ticket.

I won the Falsettos lottery the other day, but had an emergency with my elderly mom and couldn't attend. I've never heard of past-dating a lottery ticket, but thought someone may have done it or might know who to contact, to ask.

Thanks much, for any advice.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 10/13/16 at 4:42pm

Pretty sure that's not possible.   But the only one to truly answer: the box office.

[Theater3232]

Posted: 10/13/16 at 4:44pm

Due to severe weekend subway delays (far worse than normal) I arrived at 7 minutes past the hour for Cats.  Box office refused to past-date and the ushers & house manager both insisted that everyone watch the first 20 minutes via a video monitor in the hallway, whose volume was turned down so low that you could hardly hear.  Needless to say, I didn't buy any drinks or merchandise due to the terrible treatment I received.  And I've been bad-mouthing this show to everyone I speak to (whereas, had I been treated nicely, I wouldn't have brought this up.)

And it was a free-for-all in the theater.  People were taking pictures, talking throughout the show, videotaping the performance, and nothing was done.  So this ruined my enjoyment too.  I wrote a note to the theater, and again, nothing was done.  Nice way to treat a paying customer.

Updated On: 10/13/16 at 04:44 PM

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 10/13/16 at 4:47pm

" Box office refused to past-date and the ushers & house manager both insisted that everyone watch the first 20 minutes via a video monitor in the hallway, whose volume was turned down so low that you could hardly hear"

Late seating policies are set by the creative team & producer. The house staff is not to blame.

Updated On: 10/13/16 at 04:47 PM

[MyLife]

Posted: 10/14/16 at 8:44am

And don't make the bartenders suffer for what happened...

[Sorry-Grateful]

Posted: 10/14/16 at 10:46am

I have no sympathy at all for people who show up late to a theater and aren't immediately allowed to go into the house. It happens sometimes--anyone who sees theater regularly has shown up late to a theater at least once--but the priority of the front of house staff needs to always be on the audience members already seated inside the theater. When you have to climb over several people to reach that center orchestra seat, you affect several dozen people around you. You block the view to the stage, you take audience members out of the moment of the show, and you destroy the theater experience everyone in that theater paid good money to see.

 
Most ushers and house staff are too deferential to unruly audience members in my opinion, but that's another story. I get it. I would love to see a zero tolerance policy implemented in theaters for visible phone screens and/or phone ringing. If it happens, you get escorted out of the theater. It will never happen, but that is the dream.

Updated On: 10/14/16 at 10:46 AM

[sassylash3s]

Posted: 10/14/16 at 10:56am

I would recommend contacting Jujamcyn customer service.  I don't think they have a phone number, but their email address is [e-mail].  They should be able to tell you whether lotto tickets are past-dateable, and if they are, they might even be able to arrange it for you in advance.

[MinnieFay]

Posted: 10/14/16 at 10:58am

Theater3232 said: "Due to severe weekend subway delays (far worse than normal) I arrived at 7 minutes past the hour for Cats.  Box office refused to past-date and the ushers & house manager both insisted that everyone watch the first 20 minutes via a video monitor in the hallway, whose volume was turned down so low that you could hardly hear.  Needless to say, I didn't buy any drinks or merchandise due to the terrible treatment I received.  And I've been bad-mouthing this show to everyone I speak to (whereas, had I been treated nicely, I wouldn't have brought this up.)
 

Let me get this straight, slick.  YOU show up late to the theatre --- and rather than have you enter during the opening section and disturb everyone else who managed to get there on time, those meanies at the theatre made you wait and watch the show on a monitor a WHOLE THIRTEEN MINUTES before allowing you to access your seat?  Those BASTARDS!

 

Also why is it "needless to say"  that you chose not to purchase any drinks or merchandise?  in over 25 years of theatergoing, I have never once had the need (or desire to purchase a drink at the theatre (you can get them for 1/2 the price and 2x the pour at any nearby bar within a few steps of the theatre).  I've also never felt the urge to own an overpriced magnet or coffee mug to prove to others that I saw a show.  What do people actually do with all of that  crap?

 

Your righteous indignation is duly noted.  Now grow up, mmkay?

[Theater3232]

Posted: 10/14/16 at 12:00pm

If you're looking to post-date a CATS lottery ticket, obviously the answer is a big fat NO.

Even though they have tons of extra empty seats for future performances, they couldn't care less about accommodating one person who had paid $40 for a lousy rear mezzanine lottery seat.  I offered to go on a performance where there were tons and tons of unsold seats (due to all the disturbances that kept me from enjoying the show), but NO reply.

I guess they don't realize:  this one person has friends.  And friends of friends.  And many visitors who come in from out of town who want a recommendation for a show.  You think I'd recommend CATS to any of these people???

It is not reasonable to expect someone to leave home 3 hours early just in the "off chance" there is a severe delay (that happens just a couple of times per year).

Updated On: 10/14/16 at 12:00 PM

[haterobics]

Posted: 10/14/16 at 12:44pm

Theater3232 said: "I guess they don't realize:  this one person has friends.  And friends of friends.  And many visitors who come in from out of town who want a recommendation for a show.  You think I'd recommend CATS to any of these people???"

As long as you tell your friends why you aren't recommending it, they will know to discount everything else you say. That said, if it is only about Cats, they're probably better off...

[Sorry-Grateful]

Posted: 10/14/16 at 2:18pm

Theater3232 said: "It is not reasonable to expect someone to leave home 3 hours early just in the "off chance" there is a severe delay (that happens just a couple of times per year)."

It IS reasonable for theaters to put policies in place that prioritize the needs of audience members already in the theater over those arriving late. It doesn't matter the reason you show up late. It can be entirely out of your hands, the fault of gridlock traffic or a train derailment. If you are late, you are late. There is no vetting process for ticket-holders arriving late; the fact remains that you have shown up after curtain and the house staff are allowed to decide if and when you can enter the theater.

I missed a performance of Spring Awakening last year because while I was en route to the theater, my train got stuck underground due to a smoke condition in the next station. I ended up getting to the theater 20 minutes after curtain, and they turned me away. That delay was not my fault at all, but I did not hold it against the house staff that they had turned me away. I was late--like it or not. 

Your anger could be spent writing to Governor Cuomo and your local elected officials, demanding that the state budget provide enough funds to the MTA to allow for speedy and efficient repairs to the system. The MTA is critically underfunded, and delays like yours are a direct result of that lack of funding. If there is a villain in your story, it is the state officials who siphon critical funds away from the MTA's annual operating budget.

 

Updated On: 10/14/16 at 02:18 PM

[WayTooBroadway]

Posted: 10/14/16 at 2:27pm

[dramamama611]

Posted: 10/14/16 at 2:31pm

^Excellent.

[Fosse76]

Posted: 10/14/16 at 3:33pm

Theater3232 said: "Due to severe weekend subway delays (far worse than normal) I arrived at 7 minutes past the hour for Cats.  Box office refused to past-date and the ushers & house manager both insisted that everyone watch the first 20 minutes via a video monitor in the hallway, whose volume was turned down so low that you could hardly hear. " 

 

Past dating is a courtesy by the theater, and must be approved by the house manager. It's not done lightly either. Being a couple minutes late is not going to convince the house manager to past date the ticket, even if the  next week of shows only have 5 seats sold per performance.

 

Also, I'm surprised no one brought up the more logistical reason as to why you had to watch on a monitor: the cast is occasionally up and down the aisles in the first 20 minutes. Seating people during this time is not only disruptive, it can also be hazardous.

 

The monitor volume is low so that it cannot be heard inside the house. You weren't in a cone of silence, you should have still been able to hear most of the show from where you were standing.

 

Needless to say, I didn't buy any drinks or merchandise due to the terrible treatment I received.  And I've been bad-mouthing this show to everyone I speak to (whereas, had I been treated nicely, I wouldn't have brought this up.)

 

Simply not allowing you to go to your seat when it posed a danger to you and the performers does not mean you were treated badly. As was pointed out, the house staff only enforce late seating policies, the policies themselves are established by the producers of the show. They had no authority to seat you any earlier.


"And it was a free-for-all in the theater.  People were taking pictures, talking throughout the show, videotaping the performance, and nothing was done.  So this ruined my enjoyment too.  I wrote a note to the theater, and again, nothing was done.  Nice way to treat a paying customer."

 

Nothing was done? Were they supposed to go back in time and solve the problem? One thing that a lot of people don't seem to understand is that producers are more frequently requesting that ushers and other house staff not address issues with patrons involving phones or cameras. You are automatically blaming and punishing theater staff over things out of their control. 

 

[Anna_Elizabeth]

Posted: 10/14/16 at 3:43pm

Theater3232 said: "It is not reasonable to expect someone to leave home 3 hours early just in the "off chance" there is a severe delay (that happens just a couple of times per year)."

 

I've left home 3 hours early many times in order to make it to a show on time.

[Theater3232]

Posted: 10/14/16 at 5:36pm

I was answering the question posed by the original poster regarding the past-dating option.  And yes, I stayed until the end.  I found it way overamplified (so that you needed earplugs) and extremely boring and endless.  Seems to be the consensus of a lot of people on here.

[WayTooBroadway]

Posted: 10/14/16 at 6:07pm

[NJ_BroadwayGirl]

Posted: 10/14/16 at 8:02pm

I hope all is well with your mom, wolfwriter. Ironically I had a very similar situation arise on Tuesday when I had a ticket to Falsettos as well. After no luck with Ticketmaster on the phone, I reached out via Twitter and the customer service rep was very helpful but I did have to explain the emergency with some detail to get approval to past date. This was a full-price ticket I had purchased months ago and thankfully they have agreed to allow me to past date it for a Tues, Weds, or Thurs performance.

You may have trouble since it was a lotto ticket though. 

In looking at the next few weeks, the orchestra is really well sold. I'll never get as good a seat as I originally had but hopefully I can get something in the front mezz.