2011 will be the last National for a few.

From what I am hearing, this years National will be the last for a few guys I know. A friend of mine who has been renting a booth for the last few years again got some cards stolen. Last year he lost $2,000, this year it was $1,500. He can't afford it anymore. I would say it's his fault but working alone when 4-5 potential customers at your table it's hard to watch everyone.
Still, why are there some people in this hobby feel the need to steal from fellow collectors??
I guess the only thing dealers can do is setup cameras at their table.

That element has always been around the hobby. Locked cases are the best thing you can do along with not letting more than one person at a time handle cards unless know one of the parties. I often did shows alone. My biggest problem with theft was of packs from open boxes.

A number of dealers I talked to said that the cost of the doing the National versus the money made really is getting to the point where it isn't worthwhile unless the location is near where they live. One dealer said that his expenses for travel, table fees, hotel, food, etc were over $5k.