I bet there will be at least a thousand in Houston. The 2022 cart debacle and that shitty list should be deterrents, but plenty of people will roll the dice because they have a couple days off from work.
If memory serves from last year, first in line got an ORVW. Next 30 got BTAC. First 100 got Willett SiB.
I believe the first camper showed up 84 hours before the drop. The ORVW recipient wasn’t the first camper. She was a middle aged female. The first campers were young, bearded hobos. Make out that what you will. The ORVW was on Facebook before 11am.
I believe a guy got pinched in the parking lot for trying to sell BTAC to an undercover TABC agent either last year or 2021.
While waiting in line in 2021, I saw dozens of “hood shots” that ended up on Facebook.
Spec’s could give a shit because the lines bring attention to their store. If I had a dollar for every time some guy passing through asked the Russian at Smith if they had any Stagg Jr in the back, I could probably break even there.
That said, I think it’s a business model. The guy asking for Stagg isn’t going to turn around and buy a Walking Stick pick. He’s just going to leave.