I was at the one in Seattle. there were about 2500 people there and I actually won!!! I got a XP 1800+ (I did not check the stepping), MSI K7T 266 pro-RU, and a cooler-master that is not even approved for the 1800+
all in all, about $370 worth of stuff (newegg prices) It was an awesome time, they even gave out some t-shirts and tool kits.
I have the 1800+ up and running in my ECS K7S5A, and it is working beautifully, though the board has a hard time overclocking it... no biggie really, 1.53 ghz should be enough
The one in San Fransico was the first, and only like 250 showed up, then there was like 800 in Boston, and here there was 2500. I am not sure how big it was in philly, but I imagine it was even larger. I would go anyway... you just never know if you are going to win. I mean, I have never won anything before now