I suspect Caesar's dropped DEF CON because the DEF CON attendees likely have a fairly low "avg revenue per attendee" yield because fewer of them gamble compared to the avg Vegas conference attendee. They also probably spend less on high-end restaurant dining and bar drinking inside the hotel. Since the pandemic Vegas has had a pretty strong resurgence in general and this may be a sign that Caesar's is doing well enou…
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...