This party sounds awesome, though I've been a Kiss fan since the 70s and recently working through my new pinball obsession--I'm an easy target. If I were handling marketing for this myself I'd put most of my energies into getting KISS fans to the event over pinball ones. This is sort of backed up by many of the comments expressing interest in the pin, but not so much in the band.
The other issue is which city is really the best one to launch a party like this? Granted, Kiss is global, but does this location in Texas have the fanbase? Anyone who has worshiped the band long enough knows Detroit is their "hometown" (Alive I was recorded there, they launched their reunion tour in 1996 there, "Detroit Rock City", etc.) But the real issue is why ONE location--aside from the valid reasons mentioned in your original post? Sounds like it's beyond your control, but this should be an event hitting several major cities, with all the local and social media getting behind it.
Hell, the band should kick in a bit of time themselves. They self-financed their convention tour years back, carting themselves and trucks of memorabilia to a couple dozen venues, doing autographs, Q&A and concerts. Yeah, probably overreaching for a pinball machine, but I've seen Paul and Gene show up to an event where some dude made a huge KISS aquarium, so...
Man, event planning is a headache!