Chas, though I like your definition much better myself, I'd say that Gary is also right about his definition. Years ago, a fellow musician told me, "Now that you played your first paid gig, you are a professional musician." I thought that was a silly statement. I thought he just wanted to make sure that he himself was referred to as a professional musician though he can't really function without an arranger. He said that he played a lot of gigs in Hollywood just because people liked to hear his latest $6,000 electronic instrument(Cordovox) even though he played basically 3 chords on it.
Sounded like he did make a living for a few years playing 3 chords. Well, his full-time "profession" was playing music (whether it involved 3 or 14,000 chords). Full-time profession - professional. You may not like how the word is used but the thing is that language is never static, but always fluid. A case in point; I saw a large painting of a San Francisco bar in a pioneer village. The caption read, "Life in SF back then was gay." The spelling han't changed, but the meanings have changed.

I am all ears when Fran and Gary speak because I've read lots of posts by both and I enjoyed their "amusing" discussions on Bose vs Roland speakers. (I went with the Roland BA330, and read a long article on the internet as to why "professional" musicians don't use Bose speakers) Both Gary and Fran have made a great case and yet I never remember they got personal with each other. My hats off to them. I can't speak for Gary, but I remember Gary saying a few times, "I am not a musician, but an entertainer." Just as Tony gave an example of how the words professional and amateur are used in music competitions or in sports, often meanings can change depending on the context. A text taken out of the context is a pretext. An important concept for me especially when reading the Bible.

Yes, words are important, but I'd say more important are the heart condition. I'd think that a true professional musician doesn't really have to emphasize that he or she/is a professional. The world will say it for him/her. Earlier I called up my friend(the Hollywood 3 chord guy) and told him about this thread. When I told him about Gary, I could feel it; if he was 10 years younger, I bet he would have asked me for Gary's phone number to learn the trade secret.