Lloyd Eric Cotsen, the sponsor, is go player and go philanthropist in the U.S. I don't know him that well, but he was kind of a trust fund child who led a playboy-type lifestyle in his youth.
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Because the tournament has significant cash prizes and is located in L.A. it attracts strong players from the local Korean and Chinese communities as well as from further away. Top players like the ex-Korean insei Bi Jang, ex-Japanese insei Ion Floreuscu, and even a 1-dan pro like Xuefen Lin have competed. So if you either are a strong player or like to watch them it is fun. There are also players of all levels, including beginners.
Yilun Yang 7p is often there to give a lecture the end. I remember him playing a demo game with Chang Hao 9p (one of his former students!) on IGS and then reviewing it later. (Yang lost
).Last year top Korean pros visited (Cho Hun-Hyeon 9p, Yu Ch'ang-hyuk 9p, some others) because it was one of the venues for the Tygem Pro qualifier that helped selected candidates for the 1st U.S. Pros.
Local Korean television stations show up to cover the event. There aren't too many places in the U.S. where you can be on T.V. for being an amateur go player.
In addition to the monetary prizes, there are books like Joaz mentioned. There are even prizes for solving Yilun Yang's go problems. I won a cool "Cyclops Assassin" baseball cap for getting all those problems right one year.
And there are the massages while you play, though you can opt out of them.
This is one event I think is worth the travel even if you aren't nearby.