diff --git a/crud.py b/crud.py
index 8abcbbb..e92e47e 100644
--- a/crud.py
+++ b/crud.py
@@ -1,4 +1,3 @@
-import json
 from datetime import datetime, timedelta, timezone
 from typing import Optional
 
@@ -7,30 +6,6 @@ from lnbits.helpers import urlsafe_short_hash
 
 from .models import CreateEvent, Event, Ticket, TicketExtra
 
-
-def _parse_ticket_row(row) -> dict:
-    """
-    Parse a database row into a dict suitable for Ticket model creation.
-    Handles:
-    - Empty string to None conversion for name/email
-    - JSON string to dict conversion for extra field
-    """
-    ticket_data = dict(row)
-
-    # Convert empty strings back to None for the model
-    if ticket_data.get("name") == "":
-        ticket_data["name"] = None
-    if ticket_data.get("email") == "":
-        ticket_data["email"] = None
-
-    # Parse extra field from JSON string if needed
-    # (db.insert() serializes to JSON, but manual fetchone/fetchall returns string)
-    extra = ticket_data.get("extra")
-    if isinstance(extra, str):
-        ticket_data["extra"] = json.loads(extra)
-
-    return ticket_data
-
 db = Database("ext_events")
 
 
@@ -45,12 +20,7 @@ async def create_ticket(
 ) -> Ticket:
     now = datetime.now(timezone.utc)
 
-    # TODO: Check if this empty string workaround is still needed.
-    # This converts None to empty strings for database storage because:
-    # 1. Database may have NOT NULL constraints on name/email columns
-    # 2. When user_id is provided, name/email are not used (mutually exclusive)
-    # 3. The get_ticket() functions convert empty strings back to None when reading
-    # Consider using nullable columns instead of this empty string pattern.
+    # Handle database constraints: if user_id is provided, use empty strings for name/email
     if user_id:
         db_name = ""
         db_email = ""
@@ -58,28 +28,7 @@ async def create_ticket(
         db_name = name or ""
         db_email = email or ""
 
-    # Create ticket with database-compatible values for insertion
-    # Using db.insert() ensures proper serialization of the extra field (TicketExtra)
-    # across all database backends (SQLite, PostgreSQL, CockroachDB)
-    db_ticket = Ticket(
-        id=payment_hash,
-        wallet=wallet,
-        event=event,
-        name=db_name,
-        email=db_email,
-        user_id=user_id,
-        registered=False,
-        paid=False,
-        reg_timestamp=now,
-        time=now,
-        extra=TicketExtra(**extra) if extra else TicketExtra(),
-    )
-
-    await db.insert("events.ticket", db_ticket)
-
-    # Return ticket with original name/email values (not empty strings)
-    # This maintains consistency with how get_ticket() converts empty strings back to None
-    return Ticket(
+    ticket = Ticket(
         id=payment_hash,
         wallet=wallet,
         event=event,
@@ -93,6 +42,20 @@ async def create_ticket(
         extra=TicketExtra(**extra) if extra else TicketExtra(),
     )
 
+    # Create a dict for database insertion with proper handling of constraints
+    ticket_dict = ticket.dict()
+    ticket_dict["name"] = db_name
+    ticket_dict["email"] = db_email
+
+    await db.execute(
+        """
+        INSERT INTO events.ticket (id, wallet, event, name, email, user_id, registered, paid, time, reg_timestamp, extra)
+        VALUES (:id, :wallet, :event, :name, :email, :user_id, :registered, :paid, :time, :reg_timestamp, :extra)
+        """,
+        ticket_dict
+    )
+    return ticket
+
 
 async def update_ticket(ticket: Ticket) -> Ticket:
     # Create a new Ticket object with corrected values for database constraints
@@ -119,7 +82,14 @@ async def get_ticket(payment_hash: str) -> Optional[Ticket]:
     if not row:
         return None
 
-    return Ticket(**_parse_ticket_row(row))
+    # Convert empty strings back to None for the model
+    ticket_data = dict(row)
+    if ticket_data.get("name") == "":
+        ticket_data["name"] = None
+    if ticket_data.get("email") == "":
+        ticket_data["email"] = None
+
+    return Ticket(**ticket_data)
 
 
 async def get_tickets(wallet_ids: str | list[str]) -> list[Ticket]:
@@ -128,7 +98,17 @@ async def get_tickets(wallet_ids: str | list[str]) -> list[Ticket]:
     q = ",".join([f"'{wallet_id}'" for wallet_id in wallet_ids])
     rows = await db.fetchall(f"SELECT * FROM events.ticket WHERE wallet IN ({q})")
 
-    return [Ticket(**_parse_ticket_row(row)) for row in rows]
+    tickets = []
+    for row in rows:
+        # Convert empty strings back to None for the model
+        ticket_data = dict(row)
+        if ticket_data.get("name") == "":
+            ticket_data["name"] = None
+        if ticket_data.get("email") == "":
+            ticket_data["email"] = None
+        tickets.append(Ticket(**ticket_data))
+
+    return tickets
 
 
 async def get_tickets_by_user_id(user_id: str) -> list[Ticket]:
@@ -138,7 +118,17 @@ async def get_tickets_by_user_id(user_id: str) -> list[Ticket]:
         {"user_id": user_id}
     )
 
-    return [Ticket(**_parse_ticket_row(row)) for row in rows]
+    tickets = []
+    for row in rows:
+        # Convert empty strings back to None for the model
+        ticket_data = dict(row)
+        if ticket_data.get("name") == "":
+            ticket_data["name"] = None
+        if ticket_data.get("email") == "":
+            ticket_data["email"] = None
+        tickets.append(Ticket(**ticket_data))
+
+    return tickets
 
 
 async def delete_ticket(payment_hash: str) -> None:
@@ -210,4 +200,14 @@ async def get_event_tickets(event_id: str) -> list[Ticket]:
         {"event": event_id},
     )
 
-    return [Ticket(**_parse_ticket_row(row)) for row in rows]
+    tickets = []
+    for row in rows:
+        # Convert empty strings back to None for the model
+        ticket_data = dict(row)
+        if ticket_data.get("name") == "":
+            ticket_data["name"] = None
+        if ticket_data.get("email") == "":
+            ticket_data["email"] = None
+        tickets.append(Ticket(**ticket_data))
+
+    return tickets