By Jeff McAdam:
SALT LAKE CITY -- While thousands of Taylor Swift fans shuffled through the front doors of Friday night's concert with smiles on their faces, a handful got turned away, having bought fake tickets.
"I didn't know whether to throw up or cry," said Julie Gately, who bought tickets for her sister and two daughters last December. "I bought the tickets as a present for my daughters."
Gately and her kids had been counting down the days since February to Friday night's big concert.
"I was so excited when my mom told me she bought the tickets," said Isabelle Gately.
But the night before the big concert, Julie Gately saw a news report about a Taylor Swift ticket scam. Wondering if her tickets were legitimate, she picked up the phone to verify them.
A representative for the company, Smith's Tix, however, confirmed they were in fact fake tickets. Gately admitted she had purchased the tickets through a third-party website, a mistake she says she won't make again.
Determined to still find a way to get her kids in, Gately's sister and two kids went down to the arena to buy tickets from a scalper outside. They found three of them, but for double the price they had originally paid.
"We found a way to make it happen." said Lindsey Judd, who is Julie Gately's sister. "We spent a little more than we bargained for."
Energy Solutions Ticket officials confirm a few fans were turned away with fake tickets Friday night. They said the only way to guarantee the authenticity of a ticket is to buy it through the arena box office, or directly through Smith's Tix.
