$7,500 Air Cap - To Be Or Not To Be?

There is discussion of raising payouts at the Air Cap. I don't think it's a good idea. There's too much we can possibly lose and not that much we can gain.

I've asked why we should raise payouts and got the following answers:
1) We want to bring in more players.
2) It doesn't cost the WDA anything.
3) We want to bring in better players.

More players: With the number of players we had last year there were some long waits between board calls. We're adding 6 boards, but most delays were caused by people still playing in earlier events. Long matches and slow responses to board calls played a big part. Doesn't it make sense to see if we've corrected the delays before we try to get more players?

No cost to the WDA: If we use last year's record turnout and raise entry fees, this is true. If there is an attendance drop due to weather or travel costs, raising payouts costs the WDA $1,000.

Better players: Additional payouts are going to top 4. That could convince some money players to shell out the $$ for a plane ticket to Wichita, which would give Wichita's better darters better competition.

More/better players: What happens if we get some money player - say 8 men and 4 ladies? Chances are they end up in the money and take a solid share of the increased payouts. We're raising costs for local players and giving them less of a chance to get in the money.

Smoking: No smoking in the hall slows down every event. Players eliminated in previous events and players in slow brackets are called immediately. Bathroom and refreshment breaks are expected. Add about 7 minutes for a smoke break. No smoking adds at least 30 minutes to events. Should we wait to see how that affects timing of events - or possibly attendance - before we raise payouts?