[Cons]/Otakaon....Vegas?!

Well, this was not something I fully expected to wake up to. Alright, so the news really broke about 20 hours ago now on Otakon's new Facebook page. That said, I'm not sure what to think about this to be 100% honest. For those unfamiliar, Otakon is a massive event that's held in Baltimore every August and draws in over 30,000 people annually. I guess being the second largest anime convention in the country isn't enough?

Where: Planet Hollywood Resort, Las Vegas NV
When: January 3-5, 2014
Price: $40 (registration opening in a few months)
UPDATE: Rooms are apparently already available for booking.

This new event has me scratching my head a bit, the reason that they give for doing this new convention in Las Vegas, during January, is basically that Otakon just wasn't enough for them. They state on the Otakon Vegas website that the reason for doing it is:

Mostly, we felt that one Otakon just wasn’t enough to contain all the awesomeness we want to share with you. We’re always looking for new ways to expand our horizons and offer interesting and exciting opportunities to our members.

Definitely interesting, but to set up shop 2400 miles away? I'm not sure I see the thinking behind this one. Not with Anime Los Angeles following it the very next weekend, granted that's the only convention near there around that time. The only reason I can think of is that, as they mention, they want to try new things and with a juggernaut of an event like Otakon in Baltimore, they just can't do that.

Otakon Vegas Convention Chair Victor Albisharat says that, “Otakon Vegas is a new event that will allow us to further our mission. We're nearing the capacity of our home in Baltimore; the next logical step would be to expand. As well, we wanted to create a smaller and more intimate setting where we can try out new things. With that in mind, we're working on some exciting new events and formats that might not lend itself to our larger event in Baltimore.”

Maybe there's something to this, but I'm not so sure that moving 2400 miles away for a second event is the answer here. 

Either way, this should definitely be interesting.