I find both tables and CSS to be great tools in design. I am sure anyone could look at my skills and poke holes in it but, I believe tables and CSS are both needed when designing.
What is really ironic is this discussion is taking place on a site that has about 80 tables per page. This brings up the idea of function and feel of a site. Many situations CSS would look nicer but, tables function better.
An example of functionality is this content I am writing will be placed in a table. No need to have a person or complex code decide how to work with the content, just place it in a table and forget it.
And remember, do not like what I have written? Well, if you reply your option is going into a table that makes my point.