Facilities for supporting card players are much different from facilities for convention visitors. To put this in perspective, there are usually about 6,000 players on any given day of the World Series of Poker--Magic tournaments rival the most well-known gaming tournament in the world. Just like at the WSoP, far more people who are not qualified for MtG Pro Tours attend than are qualified for playing in the main event.
This is a completely apples to oranges comparison. Anime gatherings are much more like SF or comic cons than card tournaments. Card tournaments have a lot in common with chess, debate, and speech tournaments.
The geekiest thing I've ever personally witnessed was a Mensa meeting.
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