"You have to understand that the it wasn't "open", they were only permitted to do several big events a year. So yeah, it was pricey, but it was an event kind of thing, not a casual go anytime deal."
Ah, that would explain it then. My first thought was "I guess there just weren't enough people interested in pinball to keep it going," but all the accounts claim attendance was maxed out. Only having it open for given "events" seems dumb, and clearly it didn't work out. Wonder what the thinking was there.
Anecdotally, I've seen a number of "retro" arcades come and go locally in my small city. It sounds neat on paper, and I enjoyed going to them a couple times, but unlike this place's (supposed) huge turnout, they were never packed. Nostalgia just wasn't strong enough to keep them going.