[James282]

You aren't the first person to arrive at this idea, and you won't be the last. Poker players don't contribute a lot to society while they are performing their job, but neither do most people. Most people do the job that they can make the most money that requires them to do the least amount of work while still doing something they can basically tolerate. A very small percentage of people do something that is greatly fulfilling to them - some of these people make good money but most make almost nothing(relatively speaking). To me, I am less impressed by someone who has led their life as a veritable cog in the machine but who does something seemingly worthwhile than by someone who is doing what they want and enjoying life. For example, people who fail or give up along some career path and "settle" for becoming a teacher are contributing less to the general good than someone who passionately pursues poker and succeeds. The person who passionately pursues teaching trumps both of these people as far as contribution based solely on his profession, but the poker player has a chance to contribute more greatly than the teacher outside of his job because of the things he can effect with his capital if he chooses to do so. The bottom line is, a poker player has just as much chance to "contribute to society" as anybody - if only because their is so much time left in the day once work is over.
-James