"There are great success stories, " says Michel Tuan Pham, associate professor of marketing at Columbia University.

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This is a popular new way to go and there have been some great success stories.

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"Pennsylvania has been one of the great success stories of our industry in the last few years, " Fahrenkopf said.

WSJ: US casino revenue up nearly 5 percent in 2012

China, where coffee shops have become a fixture on city street corners, is one of the company's great success stories.

WSJ: Managing in Asia: Good Brew: Happy Employees, Local Flair; Starbucks Jinlong Wang

Rich, pardoned by President Clinton on his last days in office, a louche act, is long gone from the company whose current principals are great success stories, collectively worth tens of billions.

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Leaving aside the recent downturn in its stock post-IPO, any rational analysis would see this as one of the all-time great business success stories.

FORBES: By all means.

Celera could become one of the great business success stories.

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Brown's rise from juvenile delinquent to the so-called Godfather of Soul, has been held up as a great example of a modern American success stories.

BBC: James Brown