FYI to those unaware: DNA Lounge is run by JWZ/Jamie Zawinski. One of the founders of Netscape and Mozilla, primary author of XEmacs, Xscreensaver, etc. ref: http://www.jwz.org/about.html
Something like that could work really well in a place like Mana Bar (a cocktail bar and video gaming lounge, really just a bar with wall to wall consoles etc.). You could have games that you pay to play, and how well you do = how much alcohol your drink gets. With appropriate warnings and such that could be really fun.
Well, given that it already occurred and had an array of "serious entrants," I'd say you're both completely wrong and didn't watch the video.
Contests aren't all about recouping costs. It's not like the X Prize is going to mean a huge profit for the groups that win it.
Edit for context: Above poster was complaining that the grand prize ($1000) wouldn't recoup costs of building and that the entry fee (probably not even close covering the drinks costs) was too high at $45.
> probably not even close covering the drinks costs
From the contestant detail page, it looks like DNA supplies all the booze and mixers (which also probably makes things easier on their liquor license). You also get $1 per drink served regardless of if you win or not.
Edit: This is also awesome -- We will provide 110VAC, 10A. If your robot runs on something else (e.g. steam, plutonium, the souls of the damned) you'll have to provide that.
And that's assuming you tear it down afterward. Last year I met several builders who had been in other events, and I expect to see many of them again this year.
I don't understand why the upper comment was downvotted without any explanation, when it's not far from the truth. Even if the people like the event, it's still a marketing stunt similar to hackathons or other competitions.
It's not a constructive comment. It's obvious that it has marketing benefits, and the poster's connotations were that there was something wrong with that, without giving a reason.
