[diek]

You're operating on the flawed assumption that the sole endeavor here is to extract as much money from consumers as possible. If $45 a ticket allows Louis C.K. to make a tidy profit while still being affordable for his fans, but a third party buys all the tickets and resells them for $55... sure, some of his fans may shrug and say, "Well, I guess $55 isn't too bad" (price elasticity, etc, etc)... but why would Louis C.K. enable that behavior?

[mhartl]

You're operating on the flawed assumption that the sole endeavor hear is to extract as much money from consumers as possible.

No, that's why you have an initial lottery. With a lottery, poorer fans still have a chance to get a ticket.

[timbre]

A lottery doesn't seem to me to do anything but mitigate the benefit of fancy redialers or other automated ways of getting your ticket order in first. With or without a lottery, allowing resale for profit gives people willing to pay more a better shot at seeing the performance. Preventing it means everyone who's willing to pay the set price has an equal shot. I've always assumed that's the goal of anti-scalping schemes.