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I believe gambling is inherently dishonest and am opposed to it in any form.

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What a stupid thing to say.

Poker is primarily about exploiting others' mistakes, not dishonesty. And even in games where you bluff, everyone knows that - going in - successful dishonesty is how you win. That's the fun in it.

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I don't think this is the sort of dishonesty Shays is referring to. When he says that all gambling is dishonest, he is referring to the fact that gambling takes advantage of people's irrational hopes and beliefs about luck. From a public policy perspective, why should we encourage an industry that can only succeed by preying upon people's psychological weaknesses?

I respect Shays' position a lot. I enjoy playing poker, but if I were in a position where I am responsible for looking after the well being of a million citizens and not just myself, I might very well be opposed to internet gambling as well.

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If you were to do a Lexis search on "professional gambler", what you would find pre-internet is a definition that looks something like this:

Professional Gambler - Someone who fraudulently and illegally manipulates a game of chance so that they have an unfair advantage

Basically a professiona gambler in the past is a con man.

Many laws have been passed to protect to the public from these con-men. I believe Congressman Shays, and many other older generation legislators still believe in this definition.