Why was Booth admitted into the presidential box?

[Juan Marrero]

As a late arrival I apologize if this has been covered, but I wonder if JWB would only have been momentarily deterred if he had not gotten into the box. Forcing an entry might have worked, but he also had the option of waiting for the play to end and then stalk the President on his way to the coach. Once the night was underway and he had parted with his co-conspirators, JWB knew that there was no going back. An attack on Seward and/or Johnson would most likely give way to revealing the full extent of the plot. So, there was nothing to lose if he tried to attack Lincoln sometime that night. I suppose, JWB could have "skedadled" once he was denied entry, but it would seem out of character to leave the others in the lurch.

Like the sinking of the Titanic exactly 47 years later, that night haunts with those twists of fate that made all the difference.