N.Y. Ends Ticket Scalping Caps

Nina Tamminam, visiting from Tampere, Finland, who was first in line, displays the tickets she purchased for herself and her boyfriend for the Anaheim Ducks' home games against the Ottawa Senators in the Stanley Cup Finals at Honda Center arena box office in Anaheim, Calif., Saturday, May 26, 2007. The arena's allotment of tickets sold out in about 45 minutes. The best-of-seven series against the Ottawa Senators will be begin Monday, May 28 at the Honda Center. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon) (Reed Saxon - AP)

ALBANY, N.Y. -- Open your wallets, Yankees fans. New York scalpers can now legally sell tickets to the highest bidder without fear of getting pinched.

Gov. Eliot Spitzer signed a measure officially ending the limits on how much brokers add to the face price.

The previous law _ widely ignored even before it was replaced Friday _ limited markups to 45 percent for tickets to large venues such as Yankee Stadium and Madison Square Garden, and 20 percent for facilities with fewer than 6,000 seats, including Broadway theaters.

A few of the old regulations remain, however, including the ban on scalpers selling tickets within 1,500 feet of the larger arenas and within 500 feet of smaller venues. Large-volume brokers must also register with the state.

Critics said the new law will lead to higher prices in the secondary market, while supporters argued that it would make tickets more widely available.