Sen. Harry Reid helped resolve Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao ticket issue

Tickets for the highly-anticipated fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao go on sale Thursday afternoon — just over two weeks before the May 2 bout. Had it not been for the help of US Senator Harry Reid, those who are looking to attend the fight might still be waiting.

Pacquio’s promoter, Bob Arum, told Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports that a Wednesday conference call with CBS president and CEO Les Moonves and others helped resolve disputes over the allocation of tickets, credentials and hotel rooms. Reid, who has been financially backed by Arum for years, also may have given things a nudge in the right direction.

When Reid informed Arum that he was looking to purchase tickets for himself and Sen. John McCain, Arum informed him that there were still some issues being worked out and tickets had not yet gone on sale. According to one of Reid’s spokespeople, the Senator then placed a phone call to MGM Resorts president Bill Hornbuckle.

“Senator Reid considers it part of his basic responsibility as Nevada’s senator to put Nevada first and fight for Nevada’s economy,” Kristen Orthman, Reid’s deputy communications director, explained. “He has had a number of discussions to ensure the success of the Pacquiao-Mayweather fight, as he should because that’s his job. This is a fight that fans – Sen. Reid included – have wanted for years and will potentially bring in hundreds of millions into the state’s economy – so of course he would do everything he can to help make sure it happens.”

Tickets for the fight, which will be held at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, will range from $1,500 to $10,000. Yes, that’s face value. You can imagine what ticket prices will be on the secondary market.

In addition to tickets for the actual fight, other MGM properties in Las Vegas will sell closed circuit tickets for $150 a piece. There could be up to 50,000 closed circuit tickets available.

As we have seen from some of his timely references in the past, Reid is a big sports fan. This time, however, his involvement likely had more to do with local economy.