My friends and I went to PAX Prime last year and we could not find a liquor store for the life of us. We went to a grocery store but they only had mediocre coolers. Is there any liquor stores around Pax that sell hard liquor (Amaretto, Vodka, Rum, etc)?
Funny you should bring that up! The liquor laws were changed just this year, and starting on June 1, you'll be able to get hard liquor at grocery stores larger than 10,000 sqf.
Funny you should bring that up! The liquor laws were changed just this year, and starting on June 1, you'll be able to get hard liquor at grocery stores larger than 10,000 sqf.
Which I think means that, from the convention center, your closest options will be either to go to IGA or Whole Foods. The next closest I can think of is QFC up at Broadway and Pike.
PAX Prime 2012: [X] Pass Purchased [X] Extra Charge Battery Packs for Phone, etc
My friends and I went to PAX Prime last year and we could not find a liquor store for the life of us. We went to a grocery store but they only had mediocre coolers. Is there any liquor stores around Pax that sell hard liquor (Amaretto, Vodka, Rum, etc)?
If you have access to a car and a Costco card, there is a Costco on 4th ave south of the stadiums that should be selling liquor. If they are anything like the Costco in California the variety is decent and the prices can't be beat. I get 1.75L bottles of Jack for $17-$20. Not that I am trying to encourage large amounts of alcohol consumption!
Cookie Brigade Prime 2011 and 2012!
Shipping cookies for Prime 2013
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jaberwockynmtPAX Info Booth ManagerRenton, WARegistered Userregular
My friends and I went to PAX Prime last year and we could not find a liquor store for the life of us. We went to a grocery store but they only had mediocre coolers. Is there any liquor stores around Pax that sell hard liquor (Amaretto, Vodka, Rum, etc)?
If you have access to a car and a Costco card, there is a Costco on 4th ave south of the stadiums that should be selling liquor. If they are anything like the Costco in California the variety is decent and the prices can't be beat. I get 1.75L bottles of Jack for $17-$20. Not that I am trying to encourage large amounts of alcohol consumption!
Well, it will be selling liquor after June 1st. That's why Costco paid millions of dollars ($50-80 million) to get the new law.
--Jarrod "Jaberwocky" Lombardo, PAX Enforcer: Info Booth Manager.
"We know that the moment we slip, it will be taken away... and so it is of the utmost importance to be worthy of it constantly."
PAX will always be held on the best weekend for PAX. Sometimes that will be a bad weekend for you; I'm sorry.
My friends and I went to PAX Prime last year and we could not find a liquor store for the life of us. We went to a grocery store but they only had mediocre coolers. Is there any liquor stores around Pax that sell hard liquor (Amaretto, Vodka, Rum, etc)?
If you have access to a car and a Costco card, there is a Costco on 4th ave south of the stadiums that should be selling liquor. If they are anything like the Costco in California the variety is decent and the prices can't be beat. I get 1.75L bottles of Jack for $17-$20. Not that I am trying to encourage large amounts of alcohol consumption!
Well, it will be selling liquor after June 1st. That's why Costco paid millions of dollars ($50-80 million) to get the new law.
I know, I voted for it before I moved. I just happened to move to a place where I could already buy it at Costco. I'm just not sure what kind of set-up they'll do up there, it seems to vary from Costco to Costco.
Cookie Brigade Prime 2011 and 2012!
Shipping cookies for Prime 2013
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draklanChocobo in timethe Frosty North... mmm FrostingRegistered Userregular
edited May 2012
Ok so as a Canadian that has been to 4 Primes and all 3 East's I'm beginning to run into the issue of wanting to stay in touch with the various people I know who like me are attending PAX. My cell phone provider practically takes an unborn child for every txt I Send so is there a way to mitigate the costs some? I've never really understood what a Sim Card does for my phone is there something regarding a Sim card that could make this cheaper? I'm normally really up on most Technology but Cell phones are still mystical things to me. I've looked into a plan that covers txting while i'm in the USA but at $15 i'm not sure it's worth the hassle to get it turned on for just the months that PAX's are happeneing to have to make sure they turn it off when I won't be travelling. Thanks in advance for any help
I'm not sure if this question has been asked. I was reading another post about waiting in a long line to play a demo and then receiving a t-shirt after the demo. Do you have to demo games to get some of the swag? Are there any secrets to getting the most sought after swag?
I'm not sure if this question has been asked. I was reading another post about waiting in a long line to play a demo and then receiving a t-shirt after the demo. Do you have to demo games to get some of the swag? Are there any secrets to getting the most sought after swag?
Yes - for some of the games, you have to demo it to get swag. Why? Because the vendors are there to sell you their games, not necessarily to give out free stuff to the hungry masses. The swag is a bonus.
Secrets - I guess just get in line for what you want early. Sometimes that means getting to the expo hall at 7 AM and going straight to your booth. Play the games. Participate in the contests. That's really what it is about.
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Moe FwackyRight Here, Right NowDrives a BuickModeratormod
I'm not sure if this question has been asked. I was reading another post about waiting in a long line to play a demo and then receiving a t-shirt after the demo. Do you have to demo games to get some of the swag? Are there any secrets to getting the most sought after swag?
Every exhibitor handles swag in their own way. There is no Unified Swag Theory for PAX.
Ok so as a Canadian that has been to 4 Primes and all 3 East's I'm beginning to run into the issue of wanting to stay in touch with the various people I know who like me are attending PAX. My cell phone provider practically takes an unborn child for every txt I Send so is there a way to mitigate the costs some? I've never really understood what a Sim Card does for my phone is there something regarding a Sim card that could make this cheaper? I'm normally really up on most Technology but Cell phones are still mystical things to me. I've looked into a plan that covers txting while i'm in the USA but at $15 i'm not sure it's worth the hassle to get it turned on for just the months that PAX's are happeneing to have to make sure they turn it off when I won't be travelling. Thanks in advance for any help
You could consider getting a Skype number. They're only around $8 USD every 3 months.
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whypick1PAX [E] Info Booth Manager~2' from an LCDRegistered Userregular
Ok so as a Canadian that has been to 4 Primes and all 3 East's I'm beginning to run into the issue of wanting to stay in touch with the various people I know who like me are attending PAX. My cell phone provider practically takes an unborn child for every txt I Send so is there a way to mitigate the costs some? I've never really understood what a Sim Card does for my phone is there something regarding a Sim card that could make this cheaper? I'm normally really up on most Technology but Cell phones are still mystical things to me. I've looked into a plan that covers txting while i'm in the USA but at $15 i'm not sure it's worth the hassle to get it turned on for just the months that PAX's are happeneing to have to make sure they turn it off when I won't be travelling. Thanks in advance for any help
A SIM card is a little card in GSM phones that tells your phone "This is your phone number, you're on this carrier". For coming stateside, you can pick up pre-paid SIM from AT+T or T-Mobile (and probably some other smaller carriers that uses those two's towers anyway) that'll give you a X dollars worth of minutes/texts and a US phone number. Once you're done with it, just toss it and put your old SIM back in.
There's an International Travel thread somewhere around here that'll help you out further.
Ok so as a Canadian that has been to 4 Primes and all 3 East's I'm beginning to run into the issue of wanting to stay in touch with the various people I know who like me are attending PAX. My cell phone provider practically takes an unborn child for every txt I Send so is there a way to mitigate the costs some? I've never really understood what a Sim Card does for my phone is there something regarding a Sim card that could make this cheaper? I'm normally really up on most Technology but Cell phones are still mystical things to me. I've looked into a plan that covers txting while i'm in the USA but at $15 i'm not sure it's worth the hassle to get it turned on for just the months that PAX's are happeneing to have to make sure they turn it off when I won't be travelling. Thanks in advance for any help
There are various texing apps as well for most of the major phones. You get a number (or something) and all the texts get routed through the internet. I've got friends who use their Ipods for texting and switched back to prepaid dumb phones to save money. Of course given the data connection at PAX...
You may be best off just either swapping SIMs (if possible) or picking up a cheap prepaid phone.
What's the general take on if you see scalpers outside of PAX? Do you alert an enforcer or are they allowed to be there?
I saw quite a few last year and REALLY wanted to report them but wasn't sure...
What's the general take on if you see scalpers outside of PAX? Do you alert an enforcer or are they allowed to be there?
I saw quite a few last year and REALLY wanted to report them but wasn't sure...
We missed getting tickets for the Harmonix Rock Band night with the Giant Bomb guys at East. Do they do something like this at Prime? If so, how far in advance do they sell tickets?
Bollocks. Sunday afternoon == Swag being thrown at you whether you want it or not.
Seriously, it's like a barrage from a battery of Swag Cannons.
And 99% of it is XXS or XXXL T-shirts.
That's kinda the flipside of it. On Saturday the Irrational booth was so short on T-shirts that they made you pass a quiz to get one (my wife and I missed by 1 different question each. Next year we'll cheat.) Posters though weren't a problem.
I think it's going to boil down to "is it popular." Popular stuff (especially if it has a higher cost to produce) will go before Sunday. Unpopular stuff not so much. Then Swag cannons! It seems like Codes (especially for Xbox stuff) go really fast.
I remember last year we hit up HaloFest first, and they were giving out the MegaBlocks sets (which cost about $10 a piece retail) to the first 5000 people to go through the exit (strange system in my mind, I think they just weren't ready for the "first 5000 through the door" because they were still packing them when we left) I almost missed out because I was heading out the one side exit (there were 2 exits) there rather than the main exit past the gift shop. Luckily a friend grabbed me and went "SWAG!" Those were gone in just hours IIRC.
Granted a giant area with 2 exits was not the norm .
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draklanChocobo in timethe Frosty North... mmm FrostingRegistered Userregular
Ok so as a Canadian that has been to 4 Primes and all 3 East's I'm beginning to run into the issue of wanting to stay in touch with the various people I know who like me are attending PAX. My cell phone provider practically takes an unborn child for every txt I Send so is there a way to mitigate the costs some? I've never really understood what a Sim Card does for my phone is there something regarding a Sim card that could make this cheaper? I'm normally really up on most Technology but Cell phones are still mystical things to me. I've looked into a plan that covers txting while i'm in the USA but at $15 i'm not sure it's worth the hassle to get it turned on for just the months that PAX's are happeneing to have to make sure they turn it off when I won't be travelling. Thanks in advance for any help
A SIM card is a little card in GSM phones that tells your phone "This is your phone number, you're on this carrier". For coming stateside, you can pick up pre-paid SIM from AT+T or T-Mobile (and probably some other smaller carriers that uses those two's towers anyway) that'll give you a X dollars worth of minutes/texts and a US phone number. Once you're done with it, just toss it and put your old SIM back in.
There's an International Travel thread somewhere around here that'll help you out further.
Ahh thanks for the tip. I had heard about the pre paid sims but didn't really grasp the concept. I knew someone would know.
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SkeleVaderYour Friendly Dark Lord of DestructionRegistered Userregular
What's the general take on if you see scalpers outside of PAX? Do you alert an enforcer or are they allowed to be there?
I saw quite a few last year and REALLY wanted to report them but wasn't sure...
I believe they're legally allowed to be there.
This is correct. Scalping is legal in Seattle everywhere except outside the two sports stadiums.
So yes, scalpers have every right to sell tickets outside the convention center.
The real problem is the people selling fake badges, those are the people you should be focusing all your anger at.
Not only are they screwing over people, but because plenty of fakes get through with out being caught, it creates a potentially unsafe condition in the convention center by allowing too many people in.
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whypick1PAX [E] Info Booth Manager~2' from an LCDRegistered Userregular
We missed getting tickets for the Harmonix Rock Band night with the Giant Bomb guys at East. Do they do something like this at Prime? If so, how far in advance do they sell tickets?
Two years ago they had a RB3 preview night at Jillian's, but nothing last year. You should ask them, but I kind of doubt they'd be doing something (could be wrong...it's been known to happen once).
I have been trying to go to PAX for 5 years now, and for 5 years either family or military commitments have kept me from being able to attend. Now this year I have to miss out because my pay decided to be a few days late and I missed my chance at a ticket. I cannot let this stand now that I have a year where I have the time to go for once. So I thought I would try to throw my hat in as an enforcer. My background is in military electronic intelligence and military police work. I can pretty much do everything from manual labor to networking and crowd control. You need someone to make announcements? Voice projection is one of the first things I learned as a cop. Got an item that needs to be on the other side of then venue fast? I am in the top 10 percent of run times in my unit. Honestly, now that I think of it, the idea of being able to help make PAX happens is as exciting as the thought of just attending. I love building things that other people will enjoy. Whatever you need I can do it if only it gives me a chance to finally make it to this awesome event. Any info will be greatly appreciated. Hope everyone is having a good day.
John
Tikijohn on
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whypick1PAX [E] Info Booth Manager~2' from an LCDRegistered Userregular
PAX was awesome! I want to see everything next year! Should I apply to be an Enforcer?
Even if an open call for Enforcers for Prime '12 does happen, Enforcing means that you are likely to see less, not more, of PAX. When considering becoming an Enforcer it's very important to remember that you go from attending PAX for fun to attending PAX for work, and that has certain implications. Rule #2 of Enforcing is: PAX Is Not For Us - it's for Attendees. (Rule #1, of course, is 'Don't be a Dick'.) If you want to see the maximum number of things at PAX, you should consider returning as an Attendee instead of applying to be an Enforcer.
And to add on, please apply to be an Enforcer if you want to be an Enforcer, not just because you missed out on passes. You'll definitely see less of PAX, as odds are there will be something that happens that you want to see that will be during your shift, but it is certainly an enjoyable experience.
This has probably already been asked here and this thread will likely soon disappear, but...
Is there available a breakdown showing how many people bought each quantity of passes?
i.e. something like "5000 people bought one 3-day pass, 7000 bought two 3-day passes, 2500 bought five 3-day passes, etc."
If so, is this data also available for past years? Not having a pass this year I'd at least like to spend time staring at data.
This information is never released to the public.
Couldn't some data be released without jeopardizing all the secret data? i.e. just release a fact like "2500 people bought more than five 3-day passes each"*
This has probably already been asked here and this thread will likely soon disappear, but...
Is there available a breakdown showing how many people bought each quantity of passes?
i.e. something like "5000 people bought one 3-day pass, 7000 bought two 3-day passes, 2500 bought five 3-day passes, etc."
If so, is this data also available for past years? Not having a pass this year I'd at least like to spend time staring at data.
This information is never released to the public.
Couldn't some data be released without jeopardizing all the secret data? i.e. just release a fact like "2500 people bought more than five 3-day passes each"*
This has probably already been asked here and this thread will likely soon disappear, but...
Is there available a breakdown showing how many people bought each quantity of passes?
i.e. something like "5000 people bought one 3-day pass, 7000 bought two 3-day passes, 2500 bought five 3-day passes, etc."
If so, is this data also available for past years? Not having a pass this year I'd at least like to spend time staring at data.
This information is never released to the public.
Couldn't some data be released without jeopardizing all the secret data? i.e. just release a fact like "2500 people bought more than five 3-day passes each"*
(* not a fact, just an example)
No clue. What I know is that it isn't released.
To be fair the data they did release (1.74 tickets/transaction no discussion if that only applied to 3 day passes or all passes) was recieved poorly (called irrelevant, misleading, what have you.) So I'm not sure releasing more data is at all beneficial to them so they're not likely to do it. One of the Official PAX tweets mentioned the number "20,000" if that helps you (but I think that was just a ballpark number of tickets to make a point.)
I didn't see any previously posted question for this so I'm wondering if it's expensive to take a taxi in Seattle? Just wondering because all the close hotels are either sold out or crazy expensive while the lower cost ones are 2+ miles away. Was thinking about getting a room then taking a taxi to the convention center and hanging out there all day until we are ready to go back. Is this a bad idea? Thanks!
the kings inn its .4 miles away and the virginia mason is .3 miles away there not the highest quality but there cheap and close
I AM THE VAMPIRE
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sanovahNerd of the WestSan Diego, CaliforniaRegistered Userregular
edited May 2012
Sorry if this has been asked before. But is there a list of the events happening this year before, during, and after PAX? This will be my first PAX and convention and I've heard the community is half of PAX so I want to take part in as many of the events happening that weekend as possible. I'll only be 20 by the time pax rolls around though so sadly no bar crawls.
Sorry if this has been asked before. But is there a list of the events happening this year before, during, and after PAX? This will be my first PAX and convention and I've heard the community is half of PAX so I want to take part in as many of the events happening that weekend as possible. I'll only be 20 by the time pax rolls around though so sadly no bar crawls.
There's no perfect comprehensive list at the moment. Keep an eye on these forums, and the wiki, there will be plenty of information to consume about community events at Prime
Posts
Is there available a breakdown showing how many people bought each quantity of passes?
i.e. something like "5000 people bought one 3-day pass, 7000 bought two 3-day passes, 2500 bought five 3-day passes, etc."
If so, is this data also available for past years? Not having a pass this year I'd at least like to spend time staring at data.
This information is never released to the public.
liq.wa.gov/transition/overview
Which I think means that, from the convention center, your closest options will be either to go to IGA or Whole Foods. The next closest I can think of is QFC up at Broadway and Pike.
If you have access to a car and a Costco card, there is a Costco on 4th ave south of the stadiums that should be selling liquor. If they are anything like the Costco in California the variety is decent and the prices can't be beat. I get 1.75L bottles of Jack for $17-$20. Not that I am trying to encourage large amounts of alcohol consumption!
Shipping cookies for Prime 2013
"We know that the moment we slip, it will be taken away... and so it is of the utmost importance to be worthy of it constantly."
PAX will always be held on the best weekend for PAX. Sometimes that will be a bad weekend for you; I'm sorry.
I know, I voted for it before I moved. I just happened to move to a place where I could already buy it at Costco. I'm just not sure what kind of set-up they'll do up there, it seems to vary from Costco to Costco.
Shipping cookies for Prime 2013
Yes - for some of the games, you have to demo it to get swag. Why? Because the vendors are there to sell you their games, not necessarily to give out free stuff to the hungry masses. The swag is a bonus.
Secrets - I guess just get in line for what you want early. Sometimes that means getting to the expo hall at 7 AM and going straight to your booth. Play the games. Participate in the contests. That's really what it is about.
Every exhibitor handles swag in their own way. There is no Unified Swag Theory for PAX.
You could consider getting a Skype number. They're only around $8 USD every 3 months.
A SIM card is a little card in GSM phones that tells your phone "This is your phone number, you're on this carrier". For coming stateside, you can pick up pre-paid SIM from AT+T or T-Mobile (and probably some other smaller carriers that uses those two's towers anyway) that'll give you a X dollars worth of minutes/texts and a US phone number. Once you're done with it, just toss it and put your old SIM back in.
There's an International Travel thread somewhere around here that'll help you out further.
There are various texing apps as well for most of the major phones. You get a number (or something) and all the texts get routed through the internet. I've got friends who use their Ipods for texting and switched back to prepaid dumb phones to save money. Of course given the data connection at PAX...
You may be best off just either swapping SIMs (if possible) or picking up a cheap prepaid phone.
Seriously, it's like a barrage from a battery of Swag Cannons.
And 99% of it is XXS or XXXL T-shirts.
I saw quite a few last year and REALLY wanted to report them but wasn't sure...
I believe they're legally allowed to be there.
No vigilantes, please.
That's kinda the flipside of it. On Saturday the Irrational booth was so short on T-shirts that they made you pass a quiz to get one (my wife and I missed by 1 different question each. Next year we'll cheat.) Posters though weren't a problem.
I think it's going to boil down to "is it popular." Popular stuff (especially if it has a higher cost to produce) will go before Sunday. Unpopular stuff not so much. Then Swag cannons! It seems like Codes (especially for Xbox stuff) go really fast.
I remember last year we hit up HaloFest first, and they were giving out the MegaBlocks sets (which cost about $10 a piece retail) to the first 5000 people to go through the exit (strange system in my mind, I think they just weren't ready for the "first 5000 through the door" because they were still packing them when we left) I almost missed out because I was heading out the one side exit (there were 2 exits) there rather than the main exit past the gift shop. Luckily a friend grabbed me and went "SWAG!" Those were gone in just hours IIRC.
Granted a giant area with 2 exits was not the norm .
Ahh thanks for the tip. I had heard about the pre paid sims but didn't really grasp the concept. I knew someone would know.
This is correct. Scalping is legal in Seattle everywhere except outside the two sports stadiums.
So yes, scalpers have every right to sell tickets outside the convention center.
The real problem is the people selling fake badges, those are the people you should be focusing all your anger at.
Not only are they screwing over people, but because plenty of fakes get through with out being caught, it creates a potentially unsafe condition in the convention center by allowing too many people in.
Two years ago they had a RB3 preview night at Jillian's, but nothing last year. You should ask them, but I kind of doubt they'd be doing something (could be wrong...it's been known to happen once).
John
And to add on, please apply to be an Enforcer if you want to be an Enforcer, not just because you missed out on passes. You'll definitely see less of PAX, as odds are there will be something that happens that you want to see that will be during your shift, but it is certainly an enjoyable experience.
Also, feel free to read through this thread.
Couldn't some data be released without jeopardizing all the secret data? i.e. just release a fact like "2500 people bought more than five 3-day passes each"*
(* not a fact, just an example)
No clue. What I know is that it isn't released.
To be fair the data they did release (1.74 tickets/transaction no discussion if that only applied to 3 day passes or all passes) was recieved poorly (called irrelevant, misleading, what have you.) So I'm not sure releasing more data is at all beneficial to them so they're not likely to do it. One of the Official PAX tweets mentioned the number "20,000" if that helps you (but I think that was just a ballpark number of tickets to make a point.)
<+Ravenger> you are talking to me
<@heels> oh god, what am i doing
There's no perfect comprehensive list at the moment. Keep an eye on these forums, and the wiki, there will be plenty of information to consume about community events at Prime
Maybe @jaberwockynmt can help you figure out if they need more enforcers this year?