As expected, the memorial ticket lottery for Michael Jackson has sparked a fan frenzy, not unlike the King of Pop’s spectacular concerts. More than 1.6 million fans registered for tickets to Jackson’s funeral and found out yesterday if they received one of the 11,000 tickets for tomorrow’s memorial service.

The millions of fans registered over the two day period for the chance to win the free tickets to MJ’s memorial service at the Los Angeles Stapels Center. The ticket registration began at 10am (US time) Friday and ended 6pm Saturday, causing a Jackson fan frenzy.

Ticket winners were notified by email on Sunday (Today US time) and the 8,750 random people selected were given an exclusive code and instructions on how to obtain their memorial tickets.

Officials and operator of the Staples Center AEG said 11,000 tickets would be for admission to the Staples Center funeral service and the remaining 6,500 will be for the neighbouring Nokia Theatre where fans can watch the service on the big screen.

Those fans lucky enough to obtain tickets were selected randomly by computer after the system “scrubbed” entries to ensure duplicates were eliminated. Ticket winners were given instructions on how to pick them up and were told they will receive a wristband to accompany the ticket entry.

Only those with a valid ticket and unaltered wristband will be allowed to enter the Staples Centre. Any fan with a wristband that is ripped, taped or tampered will be denied entry.

No official program for Jackson’s service has been announced but those without a ticket are encouraged to stay at home. LA officials are preparing for hug crowds at the Staples Center tomorrow, Assistant Police Chief Earl Paysinger telling The Age anywhere from a quarter-million to 700,000 people may crowd at the arena.

But ticket-less fans wanting a glimpse of the memorial service will have to watch from home, the Staples Center officials will seal off a large area outside and the service will not be shown on the big screen outside.

Although the music legend is being laid to rest in the next few days, the investigation into the Pop stars death continues.