As for the "she who dies with the most fabric wins" idea....well, she's already won. I was at the Houston show several years ago and one booth had a quilt shop literally full of material ALL of it from one estate. It was hard to believe that all that material came from one house, and it was yardage, not pieces.
No, you don't have to have a stash, but the slot is open for the next stasher.