Ask Hn: Do you think the TechCrunch50 DemoPit is worth the money?

We got offered the TechCrunch Demo Pit, but it cost 3 thousand dollars so we arent going to do it since it is about half of what we got left. We asked them if they can work with us but they said the fee covers their costs and they cant lose money on the deal. Does anyone have an idea of the estimated value of the exposure? I'm thinking for 300k we can get pool 100 companies and do our own launch in the midwest or east coast. Anyone Interested?