here is my last year's story:

PETER ROWE (The San Diego Union-Tribune, feb-12)

Flimflam goes awry and the good guys win

The sure thing, Super Bowl Sunday reminded us, often isn't. Consider the Denver Broncos, trounced in the sports books and triumphant in Qualcomm Stadium.

Now consider Rudi and Wolfram Martel. These Swiss brothers traveled to America's Finest City -- only to be snagged in one of America's sleaziest scams.

Last October, the Martels paid a travel agent $2,150 for two Super Bowl tickets. The agent paid a San Diego ticket broker. The brothers made reservations.

It's Jan. 25. Our Swiss friends enter downtown San Diego's Westgate Hotel. From the lobby, they phone Room 993.

"We've come to get our tickets," Rudi Martel says.

"The price," the broker replies, "has gone up."

Way up -- to $3,000. Per ticket.

It's 10 a.m. Kickoff is at 3:18 p.m., little more than five hours away. The clock is ticking.

The broker has a sure thing.

Rudi phones Dona Thornwall, his travel agent. From Northern California -- she's in Half Moon Bay -- she calls the broker's hotel room.

"More money or no tickets," he insists.

10:15 a.m.: Thornwall phones the Westgate's front desk. "Did you know a guest is using the hotel for extortion?"

Westgate General Manager Joe Wancha calls the cops.

10:30: Leaving the hotel, the broker is stopped by Wancha. "Are you having a problem with a lady called Dona Thornwall over some Super Bowl tickets?"

"No. I have it under control."

10:52: Officers Brenda T. Yancey and David Hall meet the Martels at the Westgate. Working the 6 a.m.-4 p.m. shift, the cops are busy. Yancey's log this day will run three pages; the entries range from "Lost Bronco fan" to "Drunk at Goodwill Store."

Yancey and Hall take statements from Rudi Martel, Wancha and -- by phone -- Thornwall.

11:31: Thornwall faxes the Martels' receipts to the Westgate. These show the Swiss brothers were charged $2,150 for Super Bowl tickets. The seats are in the end zone, "high up at 'eagles nest,'" Rudi Martel says, using the Swiss term for "nosebleed section."

12:02 p.m.: Officers Yancey and Hall knock on the door of Room 993. No answer.

Yancey wonders about the broker: "Are we gonna get to this guy before the game?"

Hall wonders about the tourists: "To come all this way and then have to watch the game in a sports bar? That sucks."

12:06: Sgt. Harvey Love arrives at the hotel.

12:10: Wancha unlocks Room 993. Yancey and Hall search the room. No tickets.

1:11: The broker calls the hotel. "The police are here," Wancha tells him. "They need to talk to you."

1:18: Two hours before kickoff, the broker arrives at the Westgate -- without tickets. He tells the cops that a friend will deliver them. "This has been a bad day."

The day could get worse, Yancey notes. "Either you come up with the tickets," she says, "or you're going to jail."

The broker works the phone.

1:31: In the lobby, the Martels are summoned to a house phone. Sgt. Love invites them up to Room 993. Their tickets have arrived.

1:32: While the broker apologizes, Rudi Martel examines the tickets in his hands. These aren't the tickets he ordered. These are better -- first row, plaza level.

Two weeks pass. Rudi Martel contacts the San Diego media. He has a message for Officers Yancey and Hall and Sgt. Love: "You did a wonderful job for two stranded Swiss tourists. Thank you very much."

Strangers in a foreign city, the Martels were easy marks. They were a scam artist's sure thing -- until three cops, a hotel manager and a travel agent decided otherwise.

Even so, they should have had a miserable Super Bowl. Disappointment should have been a sure thing.

They're Broncos fans.

PETER ROWE's column appears Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. He welcomes phone calls, (619) 293-1227; faxes, (619) 235-8916; and e-mail, [email protected]

Copyright 1998 Union-Tribune Publishing Co.