As much as it sucks to have a laptop stolen if you're hosting an event with 1000+ people I think you need to adapt the policy of not being responsible for lost or stolen items.
Many of the comments here mention a certain level of trust in the [hacker] community...sorry but not every single developer is a saint who would never consider stealing someone's laptop. The larger the group the more people you'll have willing to steal if the opportunity arises.
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As much as it sucks to have a laptop stolen if you're hosting an event with 1000+ people I think you need to adapt the policy of not being responsible for lost or stolen items.
Many of the comments here mention a certain level of trust in the [hacker] community...sorry but not every single developer is a saint who would never consider stealing someone's laptop. The larger the group the more people you'll have willing to steal if the opportunity arises.
Also don't forget that at an event that size outsiders could potentially get in or maybe some staff/security did it.
Best bet is to think about it as being a completely public place at that point. Would you leave your laptop unattended at the corner of a busy street?
Hopefully the laptop ends up being misplaced or reported to lost&found and the organizers just don't know about it yet.