I'm not sure they will have. Perhaps a few of the really major companies like EA, but I know some pretty prominent developers for the platform and none of them have ever mentioned anything about getting priority tickets.
If you have contacts you definitely get tickets, but they don't always come early.
I think there's some subset reserved for Developer Relations and they give them out at will - I've never noticed a particular strategy with respect to app store placement.
I believe that's true, regarding Developer Relations. I did get into a Tech Talk one year that was sold out through a large media company, thanks to that.
However, that's a tricky road to go down. I have no idea what Apple's criteria is for that, and I know some teams that have worked closely with Apple in the past that never got that treatment.
I think there's some subset reserved for Developer Relations and they give them out at will - I've never noticed a particular strategy with respect to app store placement.