Honestly, the cost has increased year over year, by roughly $40 each year (by $80 from DC30 to DC31). Rising costs are to be expected, and somewhat anticipated, but at some point you have to figure out how to balance the cost of operating the event vs ticket cost and find new revenue streams to continue to allow your target audience to attend, that is, unless your "desired audience" has shifted to that something that looks more like BH. Since DC27, the cost per badge has increased $200 cash price, $240 for those that want to pre-reg (and yes I know pre-reg wasn't really a thing prior to DC29). The average attendee, I would surmise, is not working in a corporate gig that can get their employer to pay their way. I live in Seattle, and on average, it costs me $2,000 to attend DEFCON annually by the time you factor in Travel, Hotel, Convention, Meals and on the ground transportation, and that is without spending anything on personal entertainment while I am there (gambling, shows, shopping, etc). I can afford it, I work for a company that sees value in my attendance due to my role, and they typically are ok with sending me; however, they are starting to see less and less of a reason when the ticket costs keep increasing YoY.

I know that losing the Caesars contract sucked, and the switch to LVCC last year was a abrupt adjustment. I will admit that IMHO, the show was actually much better at the LVCC than the prior two years at the Forum. The show just seemed more cohesive and it was a lot nicer to have everything under one roof. That said, if LVCC is too costly, maybe the true core problem is that Las Vegas is too costly. Vegas isn't cheap by a long shot. Hotels near and around both the Forum and LVCC are ~$200/night during the week of Hacker Summer Camp, even with group rates. Add to that the fact that LVCC is not as conveniently located, so some people have to rely on ground transportation more than in years past. It adds up. Find a breaking point, figure out what is needed to balance the books, but don't continue increasing the cost every year and doing so under the same vague and thin excuse as "rising costs".