There's another issue that hasn't been addressed specifically.
There are some skills that poker can teach that are very difficult to come by using other methods.
An argument against ubiquitous poker in our culture is the idea that the valuable ideas need not be known by all citizens, just the rulers... lol.
This article touches on the idea tangentially (is that the right word here? Naah...)
http://mail.google.com/mail/?realattid=f...14d712dd4687206