The real life character of hit casino drama ‘All-in’ pushes to boost the industryHe has made as much as $370,000 in one day, ranking third in the world poker rankings with $20 million in earnings as a poker player. In Las Vegas, he is considered one of the top three cash game experts with Chip Reese and Doyle Brunson. Jimmy Cha won his first $1 million in 1986 and maintained high earnings for 11 y

Pianist Joyce Yang has won Julliard’s 30th annual William Petschek Piano Recital award.The Juilliard School in New York said on its website that Yang would be presented with the award in her Alice Tully Hall debut in New York on May 5.Yang came to international attention as silver medalist at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2005. She was the youngest contestant at age 19. Last y

LONDON (AFP) - Lawyers for US pop icon Lady Gaga have threatened legal proceedings against the makers of breast milk ice cream named "Baby Gaga", according to papers seen by AFP on Saturday.The New York singer's lawyers have given the manufacturers until 1600 GMT Wednesday to change the name "if you wish to avoid proceedings for trade mark infringement and passing off", according to a letter addressed to London restaurant The Icecreamists Limited.The cafe in the trendy Covent Garden district mus

NGO addresses fallacies in foreign language information on KoreaFrom the many government sectors to the self-dubbed Korea PR experts, there are probably more than enough organizations, agencies, individuals that promote Korea.Voluntary Agency Network of Korea is one of them, but it is certainly one of a kind. Park Gi-tae, founder of the organization, said NGOs like it are needed to fill in the sho

Cheap prices, personal service and the smell of musty pages draw in lovers of literatureThough not fresh and new, used books have their own charm. It could be their faded pages, old fashioned covers, or maybe it’s their price.While it’s now easy to spot English-language books ― both used and new ― in Seoul’s big chain bookstores, some smaller stores like to keep doing things the old way. The Korea

Four premium restaurants drawing gourmands, more outlets comingWhen Ferrum Tower opened last summer it looked every inch the slick office building. Slicing the firmament, this Dongkuk Steel-owned 28-story high skyscraper shouted corporate cool. Located flush up against shopping-and-tourist hotspot Myeongdong, the new addition soon started attracting rave reviews from bloggers. No, it wasn’t becaus

WATERFORD, Ireland (AP) ― Waterford Crystal is renowned for its sparkle, and lately the city it is named for lives up to that description.Still, Waterford, in Ireland’s sunny southeast (sunny being a relative concept in Ireland), has not always had it easy. The city often is passed over by tourists in favor of Dublin’s nightlife or the emerald-green seaside hills of Kerry. And two years ago, the c

VIENNA (AP) ― The TV cameras were told to ignore her, and Austria’s rich and powerful sought to avoid her. But amid all the bling on display at the Vienna Opera Ball, most eyes were still on one particular jewel ― Ruby.With Ruby, a.k.a. Karima el-Mahroug, at the center of the scandal plaguing Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi, her scheduled appearance at Austria’s ball of balls on Thursday was a s

JW Marriott SeoulFrom March 4 to June 26, the hotel is offering a spring picnic package for families. The package includes a one night stay in a superior room, a picnic lunch box for two people consisting of two ham & cheese sandwiches with two bottles of vitamin water, a Seoripul Park walkway map around the hotel and free access to the swimming pool and the gym. The package is available on Friday

Swiftly paced satirePymBy Mat Johnson(Spiegal & Grau, $24)A swiftly paced satire, Mat Johnson's “Pym” skewers Edgar Allan Poe, race in America, the snack-food industry, academia, landscape painting and abominable snowmen while following a band of black adventurers seeking their fortune in Antarctica.Recently fired American literature professor Chris Jaynes is obsessed with Poe’s only novel,“The Na

“Labyrinth walker” and award-winning author of “The Memory Keeper’s Daughter,” Kim Edwards talks about allowing oneself to head out into uncertain territory ― be it in the middle of a lake or the middle of a story ― and see where the journey takes you.Her latest novel, “The Lake of Dreams,” was published in January.1. The latest book or movie that made you cry?“Middlesex” by Jeffrey Eugenides left

Was there a St. Louis woman who could resist Ernest Hemingway?He married and divorced three of them, prompting Gertrude Stein to quip: “Anyone who’s married three girls from St. Louis hasn’t learned much.”One might argue it was the “girls” who didn’t learn.Yet we’ll forgive Hemingway’s first wife, who fell in love when he was only 21.Handsome and magnetic, Hemingway had little (although some) bagg

  Lady Gaga shows a creation of Thierry Mugler Fall-Winter ready-to-wear 2012 fashion collection presented in Paris, Wednesday, March 2, 2011. (AP)PARIS (AP) _ If the singing thing doesn't pan out, Lady Gaga can always fall back on modeling. Lady Gaga shows a creation, part of French designer Thierry Mugler Fall-Winter ready-to-wear 2012, fashion collection, presented in Paris, Wednesday, March 2,

Singapore’s government is planning to help unmarried citizens to find their match.The government is concerned about the country’s low fertility rate and the fact that the younger generation is reluctant to get married and have children. (MCT)The Straits Times reported Vivian Balakrishnan, Singapore’s minister for community development, youth, and sports, said, “We need to help them find the right

Humans, perhaps Americans in particular, tend to share a certain creed that goes something like this: If one is good, two are better.That’s fine when it comes to dollars in the collection plate or hours spent volunteering, but not so with certain research-has-shown items consumed in the name of health. Think nuts, red wine, dark chocolate, coffee.Nuts, for instance, once thought to be merely delic