I don't have a degree and I've never had a problem getting multiple job offers when I've been on the market. I've held some very high posts as well. I think people use the degree as a road sign or indicator of possible quality, among other indicators, to come to a hiring decision. When the candidate is demonstrably talented, the degree becomes worthless (not negative, but just not contributing to the decision anymore).
I've personally found that people who got into programming before the dotCom boom don't need to worry about a lack of degree, people who got in after absolutely need a degree.
I suspect it's pretty easy to get job offers when you are demonstratively better than 99% of your peers, degree or no. That doesn't mean your average programmer can find a job without a CS degree...
If you have a solid track record in the industry then you don't need a degree. But if you're a wet behind the ears programmer-to-be with no prior job experience then you'll be in a bad position. Exceptional, naturally gifted software engineers in such a position can manage to get by through demonstrating their talent in some way (e.g. contribution to a major open source project, perhaps), but the average developer is at a severe disadvantage compared to his degree holding cohorts.
