Even Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has entered the ballot for tickets to the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games as organisers need more than a million sales to make budget.
Ms Palaszczuk says she's not guaranteed tickets so will put in her bid after applications opened on Monday.
"I'm actually going to be registering like everybody else to get some tickets to the events I want to go to," Ms Palaszczuk said, although she will likely be invited to attend major events during the Games.
Games organising committee boss Peter Beattie said they have taken a gamble in keeping ticket prices low, from $20 in some cases, but the trade-off is they now need sellouts for most events.
"We had a choice, we could have gouged people and charged a lot more," Mr Beattie has said.
News that makes sense
Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
"The real risk for the Games is if we don't sell 1.2 million tickets, then we do have an issue in terms of the budget."
With more people wanting to attend events than seats available, a random ballot or lottery for tickets has become standard practice.
The ticket sales have gone live as controversy continues over whether public transport will be able to cope with moving 1.2 million spectators to and from venues.
A key Games official said he was "disappointed" a letter he sent to local organisers critical of transport plans was published by the media because the issues have since been resolved.
Commonwealth Games Federation vice-president Bruce Robertson sent a letter to Mr Beattie in December, saying there was no "viable solution" being put forward for transport for the Games.
But in another letter sent to Mr Beattie on Sunday, Mr Robertson said he had been impressed by the measures that had been put in place since December.
Mr Beattie said all tickets will come with free public transport and he's confident systems will cope with demand during next year's Games.
"The Games are on target, they are on budget, and they have a transport plan that will work," Mr Beattie said.
State Opposition Leader Tim Nicholls said he found the timing of the latest letter suspicious.
"It certainly seems the letter has emerged today after a flurry of conversations yesterday," Mr Nicholls said on Monday.
"Queenslanders will be attending these games with niggling worries about whether this government will be able to deliver the transport solutions."
Ticket requests for the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games are open for four weeks until midnight on May 22.
