This is spot on.
I've logged a few hundred hours on TPA (Steam w/Xbox 360 controller) because
1) I don't have means for the real thing yet
2) It's a very fun substitute.

At Pintastic I was able to play some of the real tables for the first time (SS , AFM , CFTBL).
I was quite surprised to find a fair amount of skills and shot knowledge translated nicely.
Knowing the rules so well definitely helped.

It's never going to replace the real thing but for people like me, who don't have a machine yet and can't get out to play more than a few times a year, it's awesome.
As a side note, I can also thank TPA for helping me get the Mrs. interested in pinball. Which in turn helps me get out to play the real thing more.

If anyone wants to add me I also go by Quint on The Pinball Arcade and Quint2525 on Steam.

I guess I've been lucky.
On Steam, within the last year or so (roughly 200 hours) I've encountered maybe, maybe a dozen or so glitches during play and one crash. At least half of those times were the BK multi-ball thingy.

The DX11 upgrade was long overdue but it's out now and added some nice features. Hopefully the new flipper physics introduced with Xenon eventually find their way back to older tables but I'm not holding my breath.
Overall though I have plenty enough fun with it to keep me satisfied inbetween encounters with the real thing.

I'm fairly easy to please and usually play after a few beers. So YMMV.