If the link still doesn't work, try googling 'joel lake'

I found both links to be working...

I've always liked pointilism and stippling. I have a colleague who is very good at this as well. Check out www.joellake.com

This is kind of silly. I would hope that the VFWs and other establishments would have known that what they were doing was not on the 'up and up'. Most of these establishments do, and regardless, its up to the owners/managers to be up to date on the code.

I still don't think it warranted a full swat intrusion. Especially since apparently there had to be an undercover police officer in order for the police department to determine there was illegal activity going on. It seems like a crack down to me. Texas is wanting to cut down on these activities, and showing a huge amount of force, and getting all the press, they will hope to scare the rest into submission.

Now apparently what they did was illegal. Whether or not the rake was for a charity or for the VFW, the fact was that it was still taken by the House. It also sounds like a lot of money was changing hands as the police had taken $6400 that the House had earned. If the news reports are correct in saying that the house was taking 10%, that means 64 grand had changed hands. That may be the reason it was targeted.

My Moose Lodge had a similar situation. They got around it by having the poker game, and just selling hamburgers for $10. It wasn't required to buy a burger, but strongly encouraged. They made pretty good money doing that, and still pleased the law