Just attended Momocon in Atlanta this afternoon and had the chance to play the Persona 3 pachinko machine. I'm kind of a nut for all things Persona and am looking for a way to get my hand on one of these machines but am having no luck. I need your help, giantbombers! 
 
LINK:   http://blog.lhyeung.net/lang/en-uk/2009/02/05/persona-3-the-pachinko-machine/

You can check out this website: 
http://www.slot-pachinko.com/2004pachinko.htm 
 
They have pachinko machines for sale, but they don't update that frequently.  It looks like the last time they updated their pachinko machine list was back in Oct. 2010, but I purchased a Star Wars one from them about three or four years ago.  (They sold out of the Back to the Future one, so I ended up just going with Star Wars.)   And although these guys don't update frequently, they have the best prices I have ever seen searching around for Pachinko machines (many are now shipping directly from Japan, charging people $380 shipping).  So, just keep your eyes on their site, and it should be fine.
  
Pachinko machines also have a couple year long license, depending on a bunch of factors, so you might see one pop up on this site or eBay near the end of this year (as your article says that as of Feb. 2009 the machine wasn't released yet), but you'll still have a little time to wait. 

You can also try CustomPachinko.com - I know they had it in stock and they do about two shipments from Japan a year with the latest machines - lots of sweet Eva ones too!!!!1