Recession bargain: $59,000 for one seat at a Lakers-Magic game

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Things are starting to look up for America’s uber-rich. A seven-bedroom house in Florida, originally priced at $10 million, is less than $7 million today. And if you print out this coupon, they’ll knock off another $1 million.

Now courtside tickets to Game 2 of the Lakers-Magic NBA Finals, which you probably thought were unavailable at any price, are listed on StubHub for a mere $59,000. Each. That means you can score two seats within striking distance of the Black Mamba for about the same price as two seats in your new 2010 Maserati Spyder.

Hopefully the refs don’t obstruct your view too many times.

Last year the Times ran an article about scoring exclusive seats at Staples Center, in which Tim Harris, Lakers senior vice president of business operations, revealed that, ‘Occasionally you just get a gigantic disconnect and you get a call from a publicist or someone who says that so-and-so is willing to come to a Laker game and willing to sit down by Jack ... and I have to break the news that, uh, it really doesn’t work that way.’

For cheapskates hunting those bargain basement deals in Los Angeles, you can spend three hours at Dodger Stadium on June 15 for $495. Unfortunately, there is no game that night.

Here’s a thought ... maybe the person selling those courtside Lakers tickets would be willing to trade for a $65,880 Joe Montana rookie card.

One offer to avoid? Even though they’re fully refundable, Game 7 tickets to the Magic-Cavs series are still listed at $241. Maybe the commissioner will implement a new ‘LeBron Rule,’ making it a best-of-nine series. Another game or three before Thursday? I’d pay to see that.

Experts are saying that without the Clevelend LeBrons, Finals ticket prices have fallen by around 40%. But don’t be surprised if they go up later in the series. President Barack Obama predicted the Lakers will win in six games. If you want to see them hoist the trophy that night, four tickets are on Stub Hub for $117,650.00 each. But they’re not even courtside.

-- Adam Rose