Curious why this is called "MAME Olympics" at all, to be honest. Most of us will be playing MAME, most of the time, but it seems that the point is to compete at the games, with the platform not being particularly meaningful. (Not like a MARP tourney or RU tourney for example, where MAME is integral to the competition.)
Maybe if it were renamed "Arcade Olympics" we'd all be more comfortable.
As for the concern here with cab advantages, I think it balances out. And how many people actually have the games where owning a cab is advantageous? Maybe a few Trons out there, but I wonder if anyone has the driving games.