Next weekend. There are sessions on 4/5 and 4/6. Tickets are available online via Ticketmaster or at the door. http://www.celebrationofthesuds.com/ If you've never gone it's an AWESOME time.
I would rather go to AC and stay at one of the hotels. Get crunked and hit the casinos. I like the Revel but its too far from everything else, its also expensive.
BeerFest is at the AC convention center. I'm staying at Harrah's. Got comped for Friday night and paying $170 for Saturday night. I am usually wholeheartedly against paying for any room in AC, but I didn't do too bad considering the rates some other places are getting for that weekend. We usually hit the festival, then end up either at the Bally's Wild West bar ($2 beers and $2 shots 24/7) or A Damn Good Sports Bar in the Trop ($5 40's). There are lots of places to get hammered dirt cheap in AC.
I don't go down often and really don't spend a whole hell of a lot (maybe 2-3 times per year, gambling between $800-$1200 per trip). I play the tables and from what I understand the pit bosses have quite a bit of pull when it comes to comps. I have learned to not be afraid to flat out ask for comps if I have been playing the same table for a few hours.
