Ryan Lee has turned his love of mahjong into a thriving social scene in San Francisco. After getting hooked on the classic Chinese tile game two years ago, he started hosting mahjong nights in his apartment. These gatherings grew into the YLL Mahjong Club, which now hosts bimonthly events with up to 200 guests. The club attracts a diverse crowd with its nightclub atmosphere, live DJs and custom cocktails. Mahjong is gaining popularity as people desire more opportunities to socialize offline. Eventbrite reports a 179% increase in U.S. mahjong events from 2023 to 2024. Lee plans to expand the club to other U.S. cities.

In a romance and adventure worthy of the big screen, a Pennsylvania couple is preserving the past and forging a future as the owners of the world’s oldest drive-in movie theater. Matt McClanahan and Lauren McChesney bought Shankweiler’s Drive-In in Oreland, Pennsylvania, in 2022 after learning the property might be sold to developers. They supplemented their own savings with a $1 million small business loan. The theater’s original owner, Wilson Shankweiler, was a prominent hotel owner and movie buff. He opened what was then called Shankweiler’s Park-In Theatre on April 15, 1934. It was Pennsylvania’s first drive-in and only the second in the nation. The business has succeeded by offering year-round operations and special events.

The U.S. has seen 10 lottery jackpot prizes exceed $1.2 billion since 2016. The record prize was $2.04 billion in November 2022. The winner purchased that ticket at a Los Angeles-area gas station. California has been the luckiest state, producing multiple huge winners, including a $1.76 billion Powerball jackpot in 2023 and a $1.26 billion Mega Millions prize in 2024. Other huge wins have been recorded in Florida, Tennessee, South Carolina, Maine, Illinois, Oregon and New Jersey.

For Giorgio Armani, it was always the clothes. And his clothes all started with the fabrics. While other fashion empires make their money on handbags and footwear, Armani’s appeal has always been in the apparel, the core of his $10 billion empire. After his death Thursday at the age of 91, Armani has been remembered for softening the 1980s power suit, decades of fruitful Hollywood collaborations and as a defining figure of Italian luxury ready-to-wear. But he was also a keen businessman who maintained his independence in an era of consolidation, an innovative communicator and a boss who was in charge of every aspect of his business.