VALPARAISO | It happens every four years, but, in his 12 years as a ticket broker, John Wilson has never seen anything like the demand -- or the prices -- for tickets to events surrounding the inauguration of Barack Obama.

"It's the craziest thing I've ever had a chance to get a ticket for," Wilson, owner of Box Seat Tickets in Valparaiso, said. "This is such an unusual thing that it might be the biggest ticket ever requested in my 12 years."

A total of 250,000 free tickets are being handed out, including 198 for every congressman, for the actual swearing-in ceremony to be held on the west front of the Capitol. Also available are tickets to the inaugural parade and each of the inaugural balls. Each state congressional delegation hosts a ball the night of the inauguration.

Wilson has tickets for the inauguration and access to prime tickets for viewing the parade and attending several of the state evening galas.

"I get some unusual requests for tickets to things like going to Dubai to watch Tiger Woods," Wilson said. "Kentucky Derby tickets are one of the hardest tickets to get unless you live in Louisville (Kentucky). (The inauguration) is tough because of the amount of people that want to see this thing. I'm even shocked myself that I can get them."

Wilson said tickets for the Hawaii inaugural ball are going for about $2,000 each because it was Obama's birthplace and he is expected to stop in. Another pricey one is the Illinois gala, Obama's current home, with tickets now going for $2,500, but Wilson said they could hit $3,000 in the next couple of months.

Demand is significantly less for tickets to Utah's ball, only $600, and you can pick up a ticket to join the Arizona delegation for only $315 despite it being the home of defeated candidate John McCain.

Parade seats are even higher with the rate dependent on how close the seats are to the parade and the reviewing stand where Obama and the other VIPs will be. The good seats come with a $3,300 price tag, but the VIP area, which could put you within 100 yards or so of the new president, go for $5,200.

That's almost free compared to the price of one of the prime seats that come with one of the special congressional tickets for the actual inauguration. The tickets are being given out for free, but Wilson said a person with the Northwest Indiana congressional office agreed to make two available to him. The current market price of those tickets is $12,750 apiece.

"They got them free, and I didn't ask any questions," Wilson said. "I could probably sell these all day in some states. I saw them on eBay for $20,000 each, but they were taken off because of possible legal problems," Wilson said.

Jacob Ritvo, spokesman for Rep. Pete Visclosky, D-Ind., said the congressman is giving them away on a first come, first served basis, and, so far, they have received more than 3,500 requests for the 198 tickets with the first coming in February. Ritvo said as many as 4 million people are expected to attend the historic inauguration.

The tickets for the inauguration won't be handed out until Jan. 19 and are for standing space. Ritvo said the tickets have to be picked up in person and the recipient has to show an ID and sign for them. That will make it difficult for Wilson, who said it will require a bit of trust for whoever buys the tickets he has available.

"I'm getting a lot of calls for the parade and the balls, but I didn't do anything on the inauguration tickets," he said. "When you only have two, you want to be careful.

"There is no law that makes this illegal," Wilson said of selling the free tickets. He said he has a business license and pays taxes on the money he earns from the ticket sales but added, "I don't know if that makes it legal."

It's not illegal yet, but word of the outrageous asking prices for the tickets prompted Sen. Diane Feinstein, D-Calif., to introduce a bill last week that would fine someone up to $100,000 and impose up to a year jail sentence for selling the "free" tickets. The Senate declined to act on it, but a spokesman for Feinstein said she plans to reintroduce the bill when Congress reconvenes in December.