Now that I'm back from 4th of July vacation I can process your input. First of all, thank you to everyone that participated. With 27 out of 46 votes being cast for 10,000gp or more. I have received a clear message. and will put the buy-in at ~10,000gp depending on the event.
10,000GP = Melee Event Buy-in
9,950 = Ranged Event Buy-in
10,000 seems like a good price for the first tourney, especially if it's testing a new format.
Also, in terms of rewards, I think people who place #3-5 should get their deposit back. I'm not sure how many players there'll be but it seems more kind to tell players to aim to "do well" rather than "beat both Goretooth and Harmless Peasant."
+1 on all accounts. The format I have for this event will have qualifiers followed by a finals bracket. I'm thinking that anyone who makes it to the finals will get their entry fee back.
For the melee tourney my guess is that Goretooth and Harmless Peasant will be the main event.
It will be very interesting to see who's Kung-fu will rein supreme.