Todd,
You have to keep in mind the size and scope of bitcoin. It is not anywhere close to a CES or large show. If the target group size is 50 people, the size/venue/pricing needs to be appropriate for that.
1 or 2 bitcoins to attend should be affordable to anyone that is interested in attending and learning about bitcoins.
10 bitcoins for a business to be able to show off and sell their services is reasonable as well.
Traveling to NYC is the biggest expense for most people. There's no need to charge alot of money ontop of that.
If you look at the agenda you will see a large block of time for people to breakout into smaller groups to discuss their specific bitcoin interests:
- Wallet Client Development
- Mining Hardware / Software
- Trading and Exchange
- Merchant Tools
bitcoin is the single biggest opportunity for entrepreneurs and startups since the .com era. If the conference can provide an opportunity for great minds to collaborate, for a reasonable price, that's all that's needed right now. Maybe in a few years we can sell out the Vegas Convention Center. But not now.