I can understand why this occurred. A few years back we organized our first wordcamp in our local city (Auckland). The low ticket price forced upon us by WordPress/Automatic definitely created problems in credibility and even just organizing decent refreshments for the event. Yes, it was well sponsored, but a $40 attendee cost (which includes lunch) is madness. Many organizers end up burnt out and never want to run a second one. I'd suggest US$125 (students/seniors) and $250 for all others as a better figure. This is still under half of similar IT events. It would result in a better event and likely more attendees since there'd be more budget for marketing and professional speakers.