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There is another Bitcoin conference event in Chicago this July. It looks like it is going to be a big event, and similar to how Murch asked if any community members were considering attending the conference in Amsterdam, I am asking if any are considering this one?

Personally, I want to go. I live only a short plane ride away.

On a related note, I may request that SE reimburse me for the conference, unless a more qualified member is willing to go through the process.

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Looking back, Bitcoin2014 was well worth it for me, but I have no information how big this is going to be in comparison and I am afraid that for a couple of days a plane ticket to the US is not within my budget. Also, there is no student rebate. ;)

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  • I read that the previous one in Miami had 1200 attendees, so it was probably about 1500 to 2000 once you add in faculty and exhibitors.
    – frеdsbend
    May 22 '14 at 21:15
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I live in Chicago and thought about going but there is no way I'm going to pay $275 to listen to people ramble on about Bitcoin for 2 days. Lollapalooza is 3 days long and is still cheaper. If you look thru their documentation they're asking for sponsors to pay 5 figure sums as well. God only knows where all this money is going, or why it is being held somewhere as large as the McCormick place when their previous event only had 1,200 people show up. If they have this many people show up, they'll take in about half a million, and im sure this could have been done for a lot less.

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  • I record conferences for a living and the prices you mention are reasonable and within the range of what I have seen. I don't think you realize how expensive it is to put on a conference. $500K for 1200 with a full exhibit hall is only a little more than it costs to have the conference in the first place.
    – frеdsbend
    May 23 '14 at 16:52
  • Also, Chicago is one of the more expensive cities.
    – frеdsbend
    May 23 '14 at 17:12
  • I'm sure it isnt cheap to throw one, but take for instance the DEFCON conference, probably the largest hacking conference out there, in 2010 they had over 10k people attend. The cost for this year is $220 for 4 days, and I know there would be talks I would be interested in, without even looking at who is speaking about what. With the bitcoin conference they dont say what is actually going to be talked about, only who might be speaking, so god only knows if this would be a waste of my time and money or not. And the cost is still more than DEFCON for half the time.
    – Matt
    May 23 '14 at 19:22
  • I agree, the Bitcoin conferences seem to be lax in getting their schedules together in a timely fashion, but Murch enjoyed the Amsterdam conference a few weeks ago. The cost difference are likely related to the AV requirements and food being supplied. The Bitcoin conferences are going to feed you both days. Further, there are probably going to be quite a few concurrent sessions, like in Amsterdam, which adds significantly to the AV bill. All I mean to say is that they are not gouging. They are covering costs and making enough to cover overhead until the next conference and maybe a little more.
    – frеdsbend
    May 23 '14 at 21:52
  • I dunno, personally I'd prefer to figure out my own lunch and the value just isnt there for me, but for others I can understand the appeal to not having to leave and being able to network over lunch. Anyways good luck trying to talk SE in to sponsoring you.
    – Matt
    May 26 '14 at 2:45

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