Rockets Playoff Fever

Search for Rockets-Clippers Game 7 tickets soars as prices exceed $4,000 and counting

Better check that credit card limit, Rockets fans. Seats at Sunday's Game 7 against the LA Clippers are as scarce as hen's teeth and priced through the stratosphere.

Just ask ticket agent Patrick Ryan of The Ticket Experience whose email alert to customers this morning began, "On one hand there is so much to say. On the other hand, I am speechless. The market is pretty insane."

It's so insane in fact that seats in the lower level between the the hoops are going at $4,000 a pop. Ryan equates that to the cost of a small car. If that's too high a price to pay, perhaps the ledge dining seats at $725 are more palatable. Tickets haven't reached this level since the Clutch City days of Hakeem Olajuwon.

Sure, everyone wants to see Josh Smith slam his critics one more time. Yes, we want to see James Harden and Dwight Howard do their thing. And we all want to be there. But, seriously?

Ryan explains the over-the-top enthusiasm, "It's not just that they won but the fashion in which they won . . . There was every level of drama involved in last night's game — despair, hope and then dominance."

"This is why people like sports.You can't manufacture drama like this on TV or in the movies without it looking totally fake."

Okay, Ryan. You're killing us.

On Twitter, some CultureMap readers offered their accounts of the search for tickets:

@culturemap Spent 90 min trying to purchase tickets on https://t.co/QfYW2A1Lgu + FlashSeats last night ... no dice! Great to see the support.

— Austin Staton (@AStaton)

May 15, 2015

@culturemap bought 2 in section 616 row 6 for under 1000 for the pair. Flash seats. Had no problem but prices in center are superhigh

— J D W (@jenifer42791314) May 15, 2015

James Harden.

Photo by Scott Halleran Getty Images

James Harden.

unspecified

Holiday News

Amazon seeks to hire 2,000 employees in Houston for holiday season

Courtesy photo

Amazon needs people to help with these.

As the 2024 holiday shopping season approaches, Amazon is doing its annual round of hiring, seeking to fill 250,000 full-time, part-time, and seasonal roles across the U.S., including 18,000 positions in Texas and 2,000 in Houston.

The bulk of the open positions in Texas are in Dallas-Fort Worth, but they're also hiring in Austin and San Antonio.

Seasonal Amazon jobs offer competitive pay, flexible schedules, and, as a release so eloquently puts it, "the opportunity to be part of the bustling retail industry during its busiest time of year." LOL. Many of these seasonal roles also come with the potential to transition into regular, full-time employment after the holidays.

The release does not specify which positions are open but one can assume packing and delivering boxes are involved.

Interested applicants can go to amazon.com/localjobs or text NEWJOB to 31432 to sign up for job alerts. Open roles are posted throughout the holiday season.

Pay and Benefits
All seasonal employees earn at least $18 per hour, and have access to comprehensive benefits like health care coverage from their first day of employment.

Approximately one-third of seasonal employees stay on year after year.

Seasonal employees who stay at the company can see an average pay increase of 15 percent over their first three years.

Amazon perks include career advancement opportunities; access to earned pay at any time; health, vision, and dental insurance from the first day on the job; a 401(k) with company match; and up to 20 weeks of paid pregnancy/parental leave for birth parents (six weeks for eligible supporting parents).

They also get Amazon Prime employee discount, and Amazon’s Resources for Living program, a free benefit offering mental health and financial services and support for employees, their families, and their households.