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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

#391

Post by MichaelZuo »

sgift wrote: post #387
MichaelZuo wrote: post #379

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So how would you explain the original cancellation of DEF CON 32?

Probably, because of what mrandish said at the start of the thread. Management thinks they can earn more money from others. If hotel staff is treated well and/or gets good tips doesn't factor in the decision process which event is hosted. As long as someone spends enough for managers to get their bonuses management is happy.

It doesn't appear there are any similar sized conferences scheduled for the original time slot though? Or that there will be one in the near future, unless you know of some information.

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

#393

Post by throwawaaarrgh »

aestetix wrote: post #186

Early DefCons were on the strip, and for reasons never officially made public, DefCon got banned from the strip. AFAIU, that's why it was in the Alexis Park for many years. I was actually surprised when I learned it was allowed back onto the strip. Given the high rate of incidents and the surface area for attack, I completely understand why Caesar's dropped them. What I don't get is how they allowed DefCon back onto…

The same reason any other gaggle of degenerates are allowed in Las Vegas: Money.

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

#394

Post by throwawaaarrgh »

verandaguy wrote: post #269
verandaguy wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't have a ton of love for politicking, but security researchers and staff engineers, a lot of the time, are people who either have a career in a really interesting area in infosec and can bring a lot to the table as teachers/presenters, or people who want to get into that area and who'd benefit massively from a place like DEF CON considering how accessible its talks, demos, and villages are to people of all skil…

I can't edit my original comment anymore, but I'll add: OG DEF CON stuff still happens, too. Parties, secret parties, parties that take a full day or two of codebreaking a badge to get to, demoscene stuff, drinking, public art, you name it, it's there -- it takes a back seat because DC does have to focus on mass appeal these days (I believe, because of its accessibility promise coupled with the number of people comin…

I have always hated the secret parties. As soon as I found out about them, I set about infiltrating them just to fuck with them. One of the reasons I left the hacker community was the toxic elitism and posturing.

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

#395

Post by sgjohnson »

well_actulily wrote: post #194
throwaway2037 wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As I understand, in Las Vegas, as long as you do not use a device to aid with card counting (mind/mental only), it is legal. Is that still true?

Sure, it's "legal"—but so is them banning you from playing blackjack or tresspassing you from their property.

In New Jersey they can’t kick you out for card counting.

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

#396

Post by kstrauser »

hyperhopper wrote: post #251
kstrauser wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can think of plenty of in-hotel bars packed with DEF CON attendees 24 hours a day during the conference.

The linq bar turned into a 24hr party after the bomb threat last year

“Turned into?”

I accidentally bumped into a random guy there before the con started, and we ended up chatting and he bought me a beer. I saw him there the next morning. And that evening. And at 2AM. Almost every time I walked past, the same guy was in the same seat, enthusiastically laughing and drinking with his buddies.

Dios mio, amigo.

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

#397

Post by fennecfoxy »

As a furry, there's one thing I haven't seen discussed; maybe this is about extracting more revenue from higher paying customers, but I feel like it's probably a sacrifice of revenue in favour of brand image/perception.

Perhaps they no longer want to be known for being the place where the "weirdos" are bouncing around the hallways. A la the poor normies staying at a hotel during a fur convention, or trying to get into the bar during a meet (though the whole place is often hired out by us; we _definitely_ provide enough alcohol revenue)

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

#398

Post by smcin »

RIMR wrote: post #332
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…

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 batte…

Well you know you shouldn't put lithium batteries in the trash, worse still indoors in a hotel. DEF CON didn't have a contact for e-waste recycling?

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

#399

Post by exadeci »

dash488 wrote: post #125

After the impact of the MGM hack this year Cesars probably revisited their insurance on getting compromised. After the auditors and lawyers looked at all the risks they came across DEF CON and said no because of the wording of how DEF CON is marketed. Their choice was probably to drop them or loose coverage. DEF CON is listed as a "hacker convention held annually in Las Vegas, Nevada." where Blackhat is "Black Hat is…

Cancelling it sounds like best way to get DEF CON attendees to try and hack your hotels

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

#400

Post by c0pium »

yreg wrote: post #280
darkwater wrote: post #254

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If they threw you out, you clearly didn't outsmart them.

You don't always get thrown out. Part of the game is monitoring the atmosphere on the floor and behave accordingly in order to not get thrown out. Even if you do get thrown out it is already after you have won some money thanks to your edge and therefore 'outsmarted' them.

> You don't always get thrown out

…because it’s actually extremely difficult to do with the countermeasures casinos now use, more decks and random cutoffs. Letting you try is very profitable though.

The whole environment part is of course not useful. None of the monitoring happening where you can see.

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