Phishrace operates here in my part of the country and I think we probably have more people who are really into pinball here than some spots. However, there are a few big ops that don't seem to really support pinball as much but more the pool tables, jukeboxes, etc. That being said, I did see a woman doing some work on the Metallica at a douchey bar and it said $260 or so as the earnings (not sure how often they clear out the money), but I know personally at the closest bar that we are there almost every night and probably only drop like $3-5 in total in machines since we can get replays etc. There are a few other regulars we see who are newly into pinball and they rarely get replays.

Of course if you did something like a private spot where people pay to play on free play etc I know that's worked in other locations. Just not sure what the laws etc are but with the resurgence of interest in pinball there may be other options. The barcade idea works too if you are willing to actually run the biz but that's a whole nother thing. I know in LA I just learned that they are doing a barcade downtown and if you own the biz then the alcohol sales are where the money is at. (We always make it a point to buy beer/drinks at any place we play to support he business and let them know we're only there for pinball

@scubadiver, from the OPs I've talked to a key thing is to have several machines at a location. if you just have one, it's a novelty, if you more than four or five, it can be a destination for pinball folks. people will actually come to play the machines etc.

For the rotation, if you are an OP you should have enough machines to be able to rotate them out. So you don't need "new" machines so much as 'fresh' machines meaning games that are new to that location. Some machines will continuously earn no matter what while the 'new shiny' object will usually earn nicely when it's first in - then see how long it's worth keeping at that one location and rotate them out.

I am a huge supporter of location pinball and feel like it's a great way to get more people into pinball so that's a great reason to route games (not the $ so much). In fact, last night I was looking at my Shadow and realizing I pay to play more than just play my own machine