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DEF CON 32 Was Canceled. We Un-Canceled it

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Re: DEF CON 32 Was Canceled. We Un-Canceled it

#331

Post by pc86 »

hodgesrm wrote: post #326
snarfy wrote: post #312

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I attended an earlier DEF CON (5 or 6?) where the attendees: 1) Hacked the in-circuit TV system and broadcast their own pirate show 2) Gained roof access and removed the satellite dish 3) Spilled hookah coals onto the bed starting a fire 4) drove the janitor's golf cart into the pool and that is only what I witnessed firsthand. I can only imagine what else went on. Maybe the attendees low spend was only part of the e…

Other than the first item, this does not seem especially extreme by Vegas standards.

You don't think breaking into a secured area and removing expensive hardware from the roof is extreme?

Re: DEF CON 32 Was Canceled. We Un-Canceled it

#332

Post by RIMR »

snarfy wrote: post #312
mrandish wrote: post #4

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…

I attended an earlier DEF CON (5 or 6?) where the attendees: 1) Hacked the in-circuit TV system and broadcast their own pirate show 2) Gained roof access and removed the satellite dish 3) Spilled hookah coals onto the bed starting a fire 4) drove the janitor's golf cart into the pool and that is only what I witnessed firsthand. I can only imagine what else went on. Maybe the attendees low spend was only part of the e…

I was at DEF CON 26 & 27 and people had punched/torn holes in the drywall in several places, and at one stairwell where you could reach up and slap the ceiling, chunks of ceiling were falling off from where people were gouging it.

DEF CON is a hell of a party, and I hope to go this year, but the attendees are a force to be reckoned with. Even I ended up fucking up a homemade badge, and tossing a failing lithium battery into the trash in the middle of a casino, only to learn later I created a trash fire, so I know firsthand that we're a problematic bunch.

Re: DEF CON 32 Was Canceled. We Un-Canceled it

#333

Post by RIMR »

pc86 wrote: post #331
hodgesrm wrote: post #326

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Other than the first item, this does not seem especially extreme by Vegas standards.

You don't think breaking into a secured area and removing expensive hardware from the roof is extreme?

Remember, this is the Las Vegas strip. The frame of reference for normal is a bit different.

Re: DEF CON 32 Was Canceled. We Un-Canceled it

#334

Post by SideburnsOfDoom »

huytersd wrote: post #330
SideburnsOfDoom wrote: post #327

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One's personal opinion on 40C of dry heat may vary subjectively, that is true. But that is beside the point; is it " generally considered nice" ? - emphasis added to the words that I chose with care above. It is not.

Well, tropical beaches are generally considered nice and those approach 100F pretty much around the year.

> tropical beaches approach 100F pretty much around the year.

Checking climate for Barbados, I rate that as factually incorrect. And of little relevance.

Re: DEF CON 32 Was Canceled. We Un-Canceled it

#335

Post by RIMR »

Astraco wrote: post #296
b33j0r wrote: post #66

Haha, would you want ESP32 hackers at your venue? Breaking into wifi and rooms to make tech points? Hosting this never made sense.

What's an 'ESP32 hacker'?

Basically a script kiddie with an ESP32 SOC deauthing WiFi and other radio protocols. Probably more likely to see them with a Flipper these days.

Honestly though, if your venue gets turned upside down by a Flipper, you should probably change a few things...

Re: DEF CON 32 Was Canceled. We Un-Canceled it

#336

Post by nebula8804 »

_cenw wrote: post #189
raldi wrote: post #184

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Check out https://www.flightsfrom.com/explorer/LAS — particularly comparing its direct flights from all over the continental US to the same for other American cities.

That settles it, DEF CON in Dubai, London or Amsterdam. I vote for Amsterdam. Frankfurt also has the most international destinations (just not volume). (Probably not Dubai, considering a few speakers would be thrown out at the border - or worse if they get though. It's also artificially inflated because it's almost all transit traffic). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_busiest_airports_by_in...

Europe has CCC. CCC is older than DEFCON. It sucks for Americans to go across the ocean. Also given that I just came back from a month long eurotrip, hospitality services in post COVID Europe is even worse than it was before COVID. I'll stay in Vegas.

Re: DEF CON 32 Was Canceled. We Un-Canceled it

#337

Post by nebula8804 »

prmoustache wrote: post #138
killjoywashere wrote: post #105

You know, why the fuck is DEFCON in August, in Vegas? Like, you know a nice place to visit in August? Kodiak, Alaska. Portsmouth, Maine. Sydney. List of places I would never want to visit in August? Vegas. Houston. Vegas. New Orleans. Vegas. Mumbai? Maybe. Baghdad? Definitely not. Also, Vegas. My friends in Christ, why, does anyone, think Vegas is a good idea in August?

Why Vegas in the first place really. This city should not even exist.

We might as well enjoy it while it lasts. At least we will have the memories once the desert claims its land back.

Re: DEF CON 32 Was Canceled. We Un-Canceled it

#338

Post by jvanderbot »

alephnerd wrote: post #243
killjoywashere wrote: post #105

You know, why the fuck is DEFCON in August, in Vegas? Like, you know a nice place to visit in August? Kodiak, Alaska. Portsmouth, Maine. Sydney. List of places I would never want to visit in August? Vegas. Houston. Vegas. New Orleans. Vegas. Mumbai? Maybe. Baghdad? Definitely not. Also, Vegas. My friends in Christ, why, does anyone, think Vegas is a good idea in August?

Convention space and room blocks are fairly cheap to rent in Las Vegas. No other city in North America has a similar amount of space or options for low cost block booking. Also, plenty of DefCon attendees and sponsors are also attending BlackHat at around the same time, so it makes it easier to justify expensing most of the cost as an employee.

Also, why go outside? Vegas is very comfortable inside the buildings.

Re: DEF CON 32 Was Canceled. We Un-Canceled it

#339

Post by HWR_14 »

jeltz wrote: post #306
IshKebab wrote: post #188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not just statistic. There are plenty of smart defcon people who understand statistics but don't understand that if you start winning they'll just kick you out.

I am very doubtful. Outside sports betting (where you can actually outsmart the house) we loved winning players when I worked in online gambling. Winning players are much more likely to return and lose more than they ever won.

How did you handle winning sports betters? Did you decline to take their bets, cap their bet size or just move the line to compensate?

Re: DEF CON 32 Was Canceled. We Un-Canceled it

#340

Post by gaws »

> We don’t know why Caesars canceled us, they won’t say beyond it being a strategy change and it is not related to anything that DEF CON or our community has done. This kind of no-notice cancellation of a contract is unheard of in the conference business. The parting is confusing, but amicable.

It is absolutely related to DEF CON. Remember that Caesars suffered a massively embarrassing hack in September, and it is highly likely the top brass and investors don't want any association with hackers from an image and security standpoint, especially in the form of hosting a conference that brings tens of thousands of them to the hotel.

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