[Jeff76]

[ QUOTE ]
And finally, I dont think I need to talk about the many differences between poker and other forms of gambling, which Im pretty certain Frist is utterly ignorant of, and which he does not acknowledge at all.

[/ QUOTE ]From the perspective Frist is coming from, any distinction between poker and other forms of gambling is irrelevent. If the goal is to protect people from blowing their families savings or becoming a gambling addict, being a game of skill dosen't make a lick of difference. The only real difference is that the addicted gambler is loosing money to other players rather than the casino.

This makes a difference to you and I because we believe in making profitable choices, and we also find the strategy of the game rewarding- not just the big rush of "getting lucky" every once in while. However, this doesn't address the moral questions Frist is dealing with at all.

I understand wanting to argue the distinction between skill and non-skill games. I keep feeling like the potential for the loser to become educated and beat the game is makes poker different from other gambling, but it doesn't. Because the losers destroying their families aren't driven by things that will allow them to learn to beat the game- they want to get lucky and hit the jackpot, not outplay their opponents and win in the long term.

On a side note, while I believe that the stock market is NOT gambling, the same potential for self (family?) destruction is there just as powerfully as in poker, and not only is it legal, but I get to have commercials on TV tempt me to go to the web with no financial training and commit however much money I want with only the simple click of a mouse.

Finally, to those bashing Christians- this is not about religion- it is about bad politics. Please stop accepting the "Christians vs. unbelievers" light Frist is casting this in, because that isn't what this battle is about.

I am a Christian and we are, I hope, on the same side of this issue.