I completely disagree, I have seen in multiple occasions for poker and other gambling related keywords that I have achieved top positions with no backlinks whatsoever, and may I add also that this was done within a week of launching the site so what about the sandbox???

I think most people are missing the point and concentrating on how to achieve better seo, if instead you concentrate on the content of your site and focus on your visitors you will achieve good results. Just follow the simple google guidelines and provide a good experience to your visitors and you will do fine.