I’M THE BOSS, APPLESAUCE! She certainly is! Not only is she queen of the courtroom, she also the queen of daytime TV! Judge Judith Sheindlin’s ruled her TV court for 17 seasons and now she’s getting into the casino business! Introducing the Judge Judy slot machine! Oh yes – this is certainly real! Judge Judy passed the New York State bar in 1965 and was a prosecutor in family court. She was promoted to judge by Mayor Ed Koch in 1982, first to criminal court, then back to family court. Her no-nonsense attitude on the bench caught the eye of the Los Angeles Times in 1993. Followed up by a special profile on 60 Minutes, producers approached her to host her own court show with real cases and real rulings. After tooling with several names including Hot Bench and Judy Justice, Judge Judy hit the daytime TV airwaves on September 16, 1996. The show, which airs on local stations in various time slots, quickly clicked with viewers. Her “Judyisms” or snide phrases she uses to call out the litigants on the bench, have become part of American cannon. A few of these include: “I’m the boss, applesauce.” “Don’t pee on my leg and tell me it’s raining!” “Do I have ‘stupid’ written on my forehead?” The show features real cases that are taken from civil court disputes around the country. Researchers for the show scour upcoming court appointments and select cases that they feel will make good television. In order to appear on the show, both parties sign a waver, agreeing to be bound by Judy’s ruling. Technically, the show is not an official court, but “binding arbitration,” although the set and dressing appear to make the show a traditional court. Any funds that Judy orders to be paid are not actually paid...

When most people sit down at a slot machine, they are hoping to cash in on that big jackpot. Technology has changed the way we play the slots, but there is still one unique machine that hands out silver tokens and has collectors jumping.  Once these coins numbered in the thousands, now the historic Silver Strike slot machine is a dying breed with only a few left to play. Silver Strike slot machines were introduced by International Game Technology (IGT) in Reno, Nevada in 1992. At the time, slot machines were still in the early days of becoming computerized. After the introduction of Wheel of Fortune slots, which allowed players to spin the famous Wheel for bonus credits by landing on a certain symbol, bonus round machines took off with players, and the Silver Strike machine was not far behind. While the bonus round for most slot offers players a chance to rack up big credits, Silver Strike machine delivers a silver coin as a prize. During normal play you can bet the max of three credits, the third reel landing on the special Silver Strike logo activates the bonus round. The center chassis on the front of the machine will begin to spin and when it stops, one of a multiple varieties of silver clad slot tokens is dispensed. A special door opens with a fanfare and the coin is presented to the player. Each casino is responsible for the design and denomination of each Silver Strike token. When the machines were first installed, the coins were .999 silver, now many are silver and copper clad, but still have value. Each strike token is designed as a large silver casino chip, featuring customized artworks specifically designed for each casino. The player decides whether to keep the coin...