2) If we want to take the money aspect out of it, try to convince WotC/get donations to pick up a GenCon pass, and have no entry fee?

For prize support:

Winner: Clone wars Battle Pack
Runner up #1: Randomness of VR/R from CW
Runner up #2: see above
Runner up #3: CW Starter
Runner UP #4: See above

Steve, are these ideas, or can you make this happen for sure?

Considering we have already thought about this, and that Jonny and I have already done one on our own, I think it's pretty simple.

Basically, you use a Paypal account, to have people pay (probably best to set a deadline a few hours before to ensure that they actually paid before letting them play).

I suggest a $10 cost. $5 goes to the winner, up til $95 is reached (cost of badge and entry into the championship). The other $5 and any extra go to one of our site sponsors to buy prize support for everyone else. Dean can get us gift certificate type things if we want, but I would probably just keep it simple and use paypal to pay everyone just to make it easier on the TO. Otherwise, you need to deal with shipping and mailing, but that's up to you.

Basically, you would need 20 people in order to have enough to buy the badge, but say you only get 15, well then, you just pay a portion of it. I suspect with enough advertisement and prep time, and a tournament plan for late June you should easily get 20 people willing to participate. Granted you might run into someone's local regional, but it shouldn't be that big of a deal, since the primary audience would be those that haven't already won one, and those without access to one, like those silly Canadians. I would play in it if the date worked out.

Then you need someone to run it, there are a few people who already have done DCI tournies on Vassal, so they can either do it for you, or walk you through it.

That's pretty much it.

I've already paid for my badge and tickets, so it would be a redundant prize for me...not that I'd be expecting to win, of course.

As I said in the other thread, I'd be interested. Timing would play a factor, of course.

i dont care if we do a regional its just that we need to do it before the 27th so that person has there badge before gencon. So thats why i just said in the other thread lets just do a small buy-in tournament in mid july. we can do 10 if you guys want and give a case to first but i just think giving out a gencon badge is going to be hard if they are flying in or coming in late. i guess we could order it before gencon and put a new on it then tell the winner the name that is on the badge. i just dont like the idea of giving out money for a badge or trying to find the winner to give them the money.
another thing is i dont feel like its fair to do a regional with JA since all the other regionals didnt have one. So I am still saying we should do a small buy-in tournament if that goes well we can do that again and do a vassal regional next year.
so kind of big vassal tournament i think will happen.

yes but as a prize you could just take cash for the value of what you paid for your badge

I see no reason not to do it for a badge and entry into the champ (or money for the price of a badge). WHo gives a crap about giving out actual money? It means nothing, and its not nearly enough of an amount to mean anything for IRS purposes, gambling purposes, etc.

Also, I don't think it matters if we do it pre-JA or post. It doesn't matter one bit what the other regionals did, as this is in no way connected to them. You are worrying about nothing Jonny.