Houndog Tours - The Ticket Man Can By Nicole Weaver Steve Keesey used to work in the food business at Jensen’s Dairy Bar in the Fingerlakes, New York which had hamburgers, hot dogs, and French fries. There was no work in the winter and it demanded long hours to make little money. Luckily he got out of it. Keesey started his own business in 1998 selling Penn State football tickets but his business founded him long before. It all started in the mid-80s when his friends began calling him from out of town asking for football tickets. He would sell them including the estimated price of gas he used in getting them and money for his time. His friends then began spreading the word of their source of football tickets and soon people as far as Alabama began calling Keesey for tickets. When Keesey asked who gave them his information they answered that his number was posted on a bulletin board at a local business. The business has not always been easy many hated what he was doing. “I was a scalper, I was a scalper,” repeated Keesey. Keesey disagrees with this however and said a scalper is someone forcing people to buy things which he doesn’t do. Stubhub, ebay, and ticketmaster are all Keesey’s competition. “They would like to drive everybody like me out so they can have a monopoly.” Keesey never left State College “I don’t know what you think of State College, but believe me that when you leave here
and go to one of those little towns that you are going wish you were back in State College.” He said. In State College he said you get more privacy and meet different people. He raised two children in a com‑ munity where seeing someone who was raised in a different culture from you wasn’t that different. Marilyn Keesey, his wife said one day she brought her son to a basketball game and at night to ballet. She said she likes that in State College people can be exposed to more things. “Penn State and I will grow old together,” said Keesey. For more information go to hounddogtours.com.
Photo Courtesy Natalie Husic
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