Escapist Expo 2012 & Slap & Tickle (Durham, NC)

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So The Escapist announced today that they'll be holding their own expo in Durham, North Carolina on September 14th-16th, 2012.

I was originally thinking of going to New York Comic-Con, buuuuut don't think so anymore.

So far not a lot of information is available, except for the obvious string of guests (Yahztee Croshaw, MovieBob, the LoadingReadyRun crew, Gavin (of Miracle of Sound) and Jim Sterling) and that they'll have a Gears of War and Magic tournament.

I am and am not surprised that The Escapist has done this. In conversations with other people over potential East Coast gaming conventions, I've often said the largest collection of game studios aside from Boston in the East was North Carolina. I would have expected Raleigh, though.

I'm gonna be watching the registration page. They are expecting around 5,000 attendees, which sounds small to me. Is it small? How large does PAX usually get?

http://www.escapistexpo.com/

List of Hotels in the area

SLAP AND TICKLE INFORMATION

When: Saturday, September 15th at 5pm
Where: Tyler's Tap Room in Durham, NC

Who is confirmed:
ccesarano
EverythingsTentative
Quintin_Stone
jonfentyler + 1
Yellek
Squee9
RedJen
Honeycut1 + 1

Who is tentative:
B Dog
Sway
DevilStick
LouZiffer
Kurrelgyre
Fletcher
ColdForged
Ulairi
karmajay
Enix
Ranger Rick?

Confirmed: 10
Potential: 21

Raleigh is nice, but Durham is a better choice if you want plenty of unique places to go and a more vibrant culture. The restaurants alone are worth it. I've marked the dates on my calendar!

70k+ for the last three PAXes.

The Escapist is such a niche site, I'm not surprised the estimate is where it is.

Also, wtf I just left NC and now we get something cool to attend.

Escapist may be a niche site, but it feels to me as if East Coast gaming expos would be in high demand. At the same time, this is also their first year, and estimating 5,000 attendees is going to be a lot less risky. They were involved with GameX up here in Philly, and one of the issues with that convention was the attendance numbers didn't meet expectations.

I'm already looking at flights vs. amtrak, and I'm trying to decide which is ultimately more worth it. I've only flown once before, and it was an...interesting experience, to say the least.

But most curiously, the cheapest flights available to me would cost $185, but they'd stop in Newark NJ. So I checked for round-trip flights out of Newark NJ, and the cost would be over $300. It's cheaper for me to start in Philly, transfer in Newark NJ and then head down to NC, then the same in reverse.

A train would cost me around $150, but would be somewhere around 10 hours ride.

Trying to look up hotels as well, but Hotwire doesn't seem to have anything less than two miles from the convention center...

From NJ, it's a 9 hour roadtrip by car.

That's a true point, though I'd rather not make the drive without company. I'll have to see what friends have in mind.

I tentatively plan to attend!

S&T!

I might go with my son, against my better judgement.

I guess I could make the drive all the way from Cary.

ccesarano, look at Kurrelgyre's example of self-sacrifice and be ashamed!

ccesarano wrote:

Trying to look up hotels as well, but Hotwire doesn't seem to have anything less than two miles from the convention center...

Everything in the south is spread out, it's why there's no such thing as an 18 year old without a car.

I'm going through culture shock right now about the reverse - my car is largely useless when all my basic needs can be met with a five minute trip, two blocks over (electronics store to the right, grocery to the left).

Registration is open. 3-Day pass is $30, temporarily includes "free VIP access". Single-day passes are $15.

Bought mine.

EDIT: Also made my hotel booking. I have at least one friend that's interested, but I need to make sure they're committed. If I have any spots in the hotel room open I'll let you guys know.

FYI, I reserved at the Durham Marriott City Center, which is the hotel connected to the convention center.

In for the 3-Day. Login with your The Escapist login and you might get a discount.

If you're a Publisher's Club member, yes, you get a discount. Otherwise it's the usual $30 plus tax.

Status: contemplating.

I'll be there. Covering it. Heh.

Anybody up for a Slap & Tickle?

Most definitely. I'd be up for seeing if the Marriott would be willing to have a section cordoned off for con-goers to board game Thursday night just as the Westin had for PAX East, but that might not be so possible.

Fletcher wrote:

I'll be there. Covering it. Heh.

Anybody up for a Slap & Tickle?

You betcha!

I know it's technically way early to be discussing this sort of thing, but I figured any NC locals may be able to check some of these potential S&T locations out. If Google Maps is to be believed, here are some nearby locations that have alcomohol flowing.

The Republic, which may require people to dress fancier than most con-goers would dress.

Toast, which looks to be a better Panera Bread (because it's not really hard to be a better Panera Bread).

Dame's Chicken and Waffles, which is my obvious choice because it's fried chicken and waffles. You don't...you just...how can you resist that?

So those are some thoughts on a potential Slap and Tickle location, as I imagine any bar or restaurant attached to the hotel will likely be crowded. Other locations can be found on here, at least of high-rated locations, but I'm not sure I feel like digging around what is in walking distance and what is not.

Fletcher wrote:

Anybody up for a Slap & Tickle?

Always.

ccesarano wrote:

The Republic, which may require people to dress fancier than most con-goers would dress.

Excellent!

Says you. It's bad enough I gotta dress nice for my job. Nice clothes are uncomfortable.

(He says after having been a rather prevalent poster in the Boogle Memorial Dating Advice thread, and not as a frequent advice giver).

We will go here!

ColdForged wrote:

We will go here!

Even at a friggin' place called Whiskey they don't seem to have Evan Williams' Honey Reserve or Wild Turkey's American Honey.

Why do people hate honey?

Though there is one concern, though: the place permits smoking, and while normally I'd try and suck it up and deal, being around too much cigarette and/or cigar smoke has given me an asthma attack in the past. Otherwise, place sounds nifty.

Probably because honey whiskey is vile stuff. A friend gave me some American Honey. I'll probably die long before the bottle gets finished.

If you like it, I'll give it to you! Better it goes to someone who'll like it than collect dust in my cabinet.

I will gladly take it off your hands.

Honey whiskey is the one alcoholic beverage that keeps tricking me into believing it tastes good. It sure burnses going down, but the honey after taste gets me drinking more.

ccesarano wrote:
ColdForged wrote:

We will go here!

Though there is one concern, though: the place permits smoking.

Never been, never knew that. Pass!

ccesarano wrote:

Says you. It's bad enough I gotta dress nice for my job. Nice clothes are uncomfortable.

(He says after having been a rather prevalent poster in the Boogle Memorial Dating Advice thread, and not as a frequent advice giver).

/monocle pop

Those who want to be comfortable should stay home and keep on playing their 360s instead while wearing boxers, bathrobes, and bunny slippers! We, on the other hand, are a classier bunch!

Gorilla.800.lbs wrote:

/monocle pop

Those who want to be comfortable should stay home and keep on playing their 360s instead while wearing boxers, bathrobes, and bunny slippers! We, on the other hand, are a classier bunch!

You must be new here.

All kidding aside, if that's the sort of location folks want to go then I will bring a nice shirt and tie to the joint and look like a genuine grown-up for once.

ColdForged wrote:
ccesarano wrote:
ColdForged wrote:

We will go here!

Though there is one concern, though: the place permits smoking.

Never been, never knew that. Pass!

Ah, see, I thought you were recommending it since you were a member. According to the site it's a membership sort of place.

I'd still say if someone in the area wants to scout it out they should. They may have them old-fashioned non-smoking sections like back when candy only cost fifty-cents.

ColdForged wrote:
ccesarano wrote:
ColdForged wrote:

We will go here!

Though there is one concern, though: the place permits smoking.

Never been, never knew that. Pass!

Maybe here then:
http://www.trianglecitycigars.com/

Or here?
http://www.tinderboxdurham.com/

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