President Trump’s inauguration has given life to an underground ticket market for the biggest soirees in town.

And for Sean, who declined to share his last name, the clock was ticking as the president-elect took the oath of office at noon Monday, and he looked to make a buck hawking tickets to the Liberty Ball at the DC Convention Center later in the evening. Sean had landed the tickets through a connection.

“I know this sounds funny and very like ‘My Cousin Vinny’-type [expletive], but I know a guy who knows a guy. So, somebody who’s very close with Trump’s campaign got five tickets. He sold them to me each for $500,” Sean said.

As he spoke to a journalist, he was also asking people in the crowd, “Liberty Ball Tickets? You guys want to meet Trump?”

The 33-year-old, who lives in Washington, said he was planning to go to the 7:30 p.m. event with his wife, had sold two of the other tickets for $1,000, and was trying to sell his final two as soon as possible.

“I’m even money right now,” he said, flashing the remaining tickets and airing concerns about running out of time to find a buyer. “I’m trying to, you know, maximize my profits right now. I already dropped them down from $3,000 to $2,500.”

He said he had not come across anyone else trying to re-sell tickets, and that the best-case scenario would be that he earns $5,000.

“But it has been a tough crowd,” he said.

“I will probably drop them down a little bit lower,” he said.  “If I can’t sell them, I’ll just give them to my best friends.”

• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.