WotC is Commander-first now and it's not even close, and I know this has been one of the main reasons local events just don't happen anymore like they used to.

While I loved (I say past tense because when I closed my shop I gave up Magic) commander, I miss 60 card.

The Commander Parties were fun to run, but I would have a group of players who would come In and wanted to play plain commander. They would end up in a pod with someone wanting to do the party and then refuse to acknowledge the night's rules. This ended up souring people to the commander parties. Since my shop was in a small town, a lot of times I would only get enough for a single pod, maybe 2, and 3 on a really good night.