Lotto open for SEPTA papal rail passes

Ready, set, go!  It’s time to sign up if you want a chance to get rail passes for the papal visit.  Those hoping to take the train to Philadelphia to see Pope Francis began entering the SEPTA lottery at midnight.

Don’t worry if you overslept or forgot to sign up for the lottery overnight, said Jerri Williams, SEPTA spokeswoman.

“No matter what time you enter your lottery submission, everyone has the same chance of being selected, no matter what time you make your entry,” she said.

Once all the entries are in, they’ll be reviewed by an outside expert on the lookout for scalpers who are trying to buy the tickets to resell at a premium.

“TicketLeap will then go through all the entries … they’ll look at them for duplications, for suspicious entries, and they will kind of scrub the whole thing,” Williams said.

If you’re a lottery winner, you’ll receive a “congratulations” email Thursday — along with the link to complete your purchase.  The 350,000 passes — 175,000 for each day of the papal visit — cost $10 each plus a service charge.