LITTLE GEMS
Lake Geneva Billiards, formerly the Lake Geneva Billiard Club.
A new operation moves into Lake Geneva, right into its very heart, at the centrally located intersection of Main Street and Broad. Under Kilwins, innocently serving chocolate delights upstairs, while the Vape Shop drifts away and back in clouds of legal bliss. The Billiards business, whether it’s still called the Lake Geneva Billiard Club or simply the Lake Geneva Billiards, is a mystery. Curt is the manager/owner/or whatever. He has two pool tables, both small bar tables and not the regulation units. They are coin operated, taking quarters in this day and age when nobody takes change for much of anything. There are no tables. There is a bar for beer and wine that has about ten seats.
There are the ubiquitous gambling machines which most people in Wisconsin think are legal (up to five of them to an establishment the GSR staff has been told many times). Well, there is no legal gambling whatsoever outside of the registered casinos and the two sports betting locations, none of which are in or around Lake Geneva. The machines are illegal but the ‘players’ have figured out that they can’t attach their bookmaking and loan shark operations to quality restaurants or bars. Those establishments become too fearful of being investigated for only a small part of their profits and force the gambling operations out when they come under the glare of the media (that’s the GSR, in these cases). Now, they have come back with a business that can’t make a dime, but it can make books and have the lone sharks swirling about.
If the GSR puts a light on what they are doing then too bad, they can keep going until the investigators move in or shut down and move on without much expense. Never encountered the Mafia before…well go in and meet the slick operators of this new establishment. Tony Soprano was laid back in appearance next to these new players.
Winter is in the air.
It’s clear that fall is nearly upon us. Labor Day has passed, pumpkin spice everything is back, and we’re losing daylight. For some, the leaves may have already started changing color. For others, it won’t be long until the trees burst into reds, yellows, oranges, and browns. Soon we will have leaves crunching beneath our feet as we walk with the fresh scent of leaves as they fall. As of September 7, only a handful of areas, primarily in the northern U.S., are seeing leaves changing. It won’t be until mid-October that the majority of the trees in the U.S. will be at or near peak change. There are multiple factors that can influence when the leaves change color. Largely, it’s the length of day. We’ve been slowly losing daylight since the summer solstice in mid-June, and it will only become more noticeable as we move through September. Moisture also plays a big role in the changing colors. Our trees are tuned into that lack of light and will soon begin to wind down for the year. Enjoy the leaves while you can because by late October and early November, the fall foliage will be past peak in the Wisconsin area of the country.
