All of the more recent years that I did DEF CON I was with large groups of people going to high end restaurants and (ab)using the hotel bars. In fact the hotel bars were always packed.
My suspicion is that Caesars is trying to do something like play with headcount. Late summer is not just a weak time for conferences but DEF CON needs a ton more space and a ton more human babysitting across that space than any other conference. You don't see EVO or BlackHat getting cancelled (same exactly time window) because they're pretty contained in one place.
My guess is that Caesars needs to staff up a little for DEF CON or that they may even be considering reducing staffing in late summer. Con attendees are going to stay at their properties and use their bars/restaurants/tables anyway.
...although now that I think about it, EVO was moved up 2 weeks and has a new unannounced venue this year, so maybe this isn't isolated to DEF CON.
...and also the Venetian is having its convention space renovated until 2026...
Black Hat is a giant commercial conference run by a company that runs dozens and dozens of giant commercial conferences. No event venue is ever going to fuck with them.
Also Black Hat brings a lot of more-corporate, less-hacker types, who are probably likely to have much higher spend, possibly more gambling, and certainly dining expenses covered.
My suspicion is that Caesars is trying to do something like play with headcount. Late summer is not just a weak time for conferences but DEF CON needs a ton more space and a ton more human babysitting across that space than any other conference. You don't see EVO or BlackHat getting cancelled (same exactly time window) because they're pretty contained in one place.
My guess is that Caesars needs to staff up a little for DEF CON or that they may even be considering reducing staffing in late summer. Con attendees are going to stay at their properties and use their bars/restaurants/tables anyway.
...although now that I think about it, EVO was moved up 2 weeks and has a new unannounced venue this year, so maybe this isn't isolated to DEF CON. ...and also the Venetian is having its convention space renovated until 2026...