Property management is a lot of work and running a pinball arcade seems like a lot work. If you enjoy doing both, then go for it! People that enjoy what they are doing tend to be better rewarded on many levels and more likely to be successful. You can make good money investing in real estate bought right. If you don’t want to be a landlord (a very people intensive job to do right!), don’t give yourself a true “job” with this venture.

Are the other entertainment venues thriving right now in your town? Maybe you can partner with somebody established and put a few games out that way to judge the pinball market? I know of vendors that do a split on their games and can make money - they operate mostly video games though. I think almost all of the pinball places I used to go to at the Jersey shore are gone, so a pinball arcade without other rental income might not yield acceptable profit for the work/risk put in. You can also use the game revenue from this market test as evidence to get funding at a better rate.