Quoted from doublestack:

Some truths are universal but its not too bad around here in the Midwest.
There are definitely some hardcore players here that only talk in replays and soda they drink out at their car, fortunately those players aren't as prevalent anymore as the younger crowd embraces pinball. Casuals are the money maker for the operator and the bar location. I do believe in catering to both but always give the nod to the casuals as they keep the lights on, pinheads love to remind you how much money they just dropped in XYZ game last week, where casuals are in the background feeding the games and just having a good time.
We had a guy at our league that the staff had to talk to because he constantly brought in his on gas station drink into the place, I wasn't there but that's just plain rude. Speaking of leagues, they are a great way to show a business that you have steady food/drink purchases on a certain night. 65% of our league drink and usually have over 2 beers with food. Also people in leagues bring friends or family members that even if they don't play, will eat/drink.
I have friends that moonlight for bars doing trivia or karaoke. The going rate for a bar to pay them for one night of service is $4-$600 depending on the size and most places have a weekly night for these events, those costs add up to a location. Those events also have the same issues we see in pinheads, people that go for just the entertainment and don't buy anything, however a bar is willing to pay it to get people in the door. The difficult part an operator has is that his people/following is not set to a certain time or night. I can just as easily make the same amount of food and beverage GP but its not concentrated in a night and therefore easy to see for a bar owner. Education can get them there to understand.
Dropping a decent lineup of games will cost them floor space and nominal electricity. Its a win/win if the right operator and bar owner are in agreement. I'm not all 100% and most are still 75/25, but the 100% guys will get all the new games, launch parties, more league nights and monthly tournaments. Most bar owners understand that if costs go up, so does the end price to the consumer, they deal with food price fluctuation daily so its a relevant common ground in discussions.
Pinball is stuck in a weird valuation right now, the public will not pay more than $1 a play but costs are going up, something has to give and for me its the split.

Quoted from pookycade:

This is an incredibly helpful post. Thank you for putting up this info.