Fight for Ticket Goes His Way

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Adrian Watson had been thinking of attending the Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao fight since the matchup was first floated years ago. But when it finally was scheduled for earlier this month, he worried he’d be priced out.

“They didn’t release the tickets until the week before the fight,” he said. “I was trying to get a $1,500 ticket – the cheapest one – but they sold out immediately. When they hit StubHub, the cheapest tickets were $3,500 to $4,000.”

But Watson, a West L.A.-based manager for life sciences consulting firm Trinity Partners, decided to make the drive to Las Vegas anyway just to be part of the atmosphere. And, soon enough, market forces started to work in his favor.

“The day before, prices started dropping like a rock. I refreshed StubHub every half-hour and they kept going down.”

Watson, 31, waited until 4:30 p.m. the day of the fight and was able to snag a $5,000 face-value ticket for $3,300.

While he said the environment was great, Watson admitted to being disappointed by the action in the ring. But that doesn’t mean Watson regrets his decision to go.

“In hindsight, had I known the fight was going to be lackluster, I probably wouldn’t have spent the money,” he said. “But you can’t think like that.”

Real Wheeler Dealer

Joe Molina, president of JMPR Public Relations in Woodland Hills, gets to drive the hottest luxury cars thanks to clients such as Bentley and Bugatti. But he’s actually been driving in luxury cars since high school.

Molina said he had the “gift of gab” when he was 16. He used the pay phone at his high school and collect-call auto manufacturers in Europe to get car brochures – convincing them he was interested in purchasing some high-end cars.

Then he would dress up in his best suit to look older and visit those same auto dealers.

“I couldn’t drive, but they drove me in Rolls-Royce, Bentleys, Ferraris, Lamborghinis and Aston Martins,” Molina, 60, said. “I would just dress up. I always had this gift of gab and everybody knew I could sell ice to the Eskimos.”

Triple Play in Politics

Kish Rajan is going from working for one California governor to three.

He was the first director of Gov. Jerry Brown’s Office of Business and Economic Development, but Rajan will start May 18 as president of the Southern California Leadership Council, which is led by former Govs. Pete Wilson, Gray Davis and George Deukmajian.

“I get to triple my fun,” cracked Rajan.

Although his new job is in the private sector, he sees lots of similarities to his old one. The council, headquartered in downtown Los Angeles, is concerned with public policies that are important to economic vitality, much the same as the state office.

“I hope to extend the reach of the organization, including to Sacramento,” said Rajan, 45.

As for working for Brown, Rajan said he never saw the temper that Brown is renowned to have.

“But I will say, he is a determined guy,” he said.

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