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Hundreds-of-thousands of people stood in the cold rain for hours last night, just for the chance to ring in the New Year at Times Square. You had to arrive by early afternoon to get a good spot--and couldn't leave and return because of tight security. Greg Packer of Long Island said he's been marking the New Year at Times Square for about 10 years now.

PACKER: I don't like the price gouging of every New Year's. People spend too much money, especially in today's economy. So I figure, why not come to Times Square for New Year's. It's free. And there are so many people from all over the country all over the world.

REPORTER: Along with the traditional ball drop organizers threw 3,000 pounds of confetti into the air. Some of the pieces of paper had wishes that people had written on them such as to bring troops home from wars overseas.