Website for Jackson tickets gets 500 million hits in first hour

Organizers of Michael Jackson's memorial said that in the first hour after ticket details were announced this morning, the website www.staplescenter.com had received more than 500 million hits.

Fans must register on the site for a chance to be awarded, by lottery, a pair of the 17,500 free tickets that will be made available to the public for Tuesday's memorial service.

A news release from the Jackson family said the website is set up to prevent duplicate registrations from being accepted and that registering more than once would not increase a person’s chance of getting the wristbands and tickets necessary for the event.

Meantime, up in Los Olivos, the owners of Neverland Ranch released a statement today saying they will not allow any more tours or interviews to be conducted at the estate until the memorial service is over. The statement read:

"In deference to Michael Jackson and his family, Neverland Ranch will close its magical gates to the media and will not conduct any events from 7:00 pm Friday, July 3 until after the scheduled memorial for Michael Jackson on Tuesday, July 7. This will enable all of us, including his fans and family, to focus on the Tuesday celebration of Michael’s life at the Staples Center in Los Angeles."
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