We may be going out to Vegas for COMDEX this year, and I was wondering about the whole experience.
Overly expensive hotel rooms? I assume they damn near sell out that town.
Insane crowds?
Can just “anybody” buy a ticket, at least into the exhibition hall? How much? Can additional tix be purchased for certain presentations/keynotes?
What else should I know before taking the plunge?
I am asking because this great tech meeting still doesn’t have their website up and running! 
Thanks for any info you can give me!
I went to COMDEX several years ago. When I called for a hotel room they asked if I was with COMDEX, I said yes and they quoted me a room price of about $150 a night, I said I would call back. I called back and said I WAS NOT with COMDEX, they quoted me a room price of about $60 a night. So, when making hotel reservations I would tell them you are NOT with COMDEX. Apparently the computer nerds don’t gamble much (too smart for that monkey business?), so they gouge them on the room rates. You can do the same little experiment yourself to see if this is still true.
The show was spread out over three big convention centers in different parts of town, and a few other smaller shows also. I believe there were shuttle busses between the three big centers. Take some comfortable shoes though, you are going to put on some miles.
I think you will be able to get into just about any presentation, except the keynote speaker, that’s usually sold out. When they get their website up and they show things as sold out, don’t be too discouraged, just show up to the presentation a few minutes before the show and someone usually has an extra ticket or two out front.
When get there, you sign up, pay up, and get an ID tag. Your ID tag will have your name, company affiliation, and a bar code. You can have any of the exhibitors scan your bar code if you want to receive information from them (and an inevitable sales call).
I did one big convention center per day, I think more than that and you might get burned out and exhausted.
Have fun. 
COMDEX website for 2004
cc is probably right about the raised room rates, I have heard that this happens. Just do a search* for cheap rooms on the strip, but book early because there are very few rooms left in this town during big conventions like COMDEX.
About insane crowds, I dunno, but something like 200,000 people come just for the convention. But I have serious doubts that they are all in the convention center at once. I mean how insane can a bunch ot tech geeks be…hmmmm