Man Claims Cancer To Scam Money For World Series Of Poker
A man claimed he had cancer to raise money and play in the World Series of Poker. A California man says his dying wish was to play in the World Series of Poker. It was his dying wish.
And people donated to cover his $10,000 entry fee. But it turns out he didn’t play his cards right. He was lying!
Back in June, a 37-year-old guy from California, named Rob Mercer, said he had stage 4 colon cancer, and his dying wish was to play in the World Series of Poker in LasVegas. So people donated thousands of dollars on GoFundMe to make it happen for him.
It costs $10,000 to enter, but the total donations were valued at more than $30,000. They included things like a free suite at the Bellagio.
It Was All A Lie
But now it turns out the whole thing was a complete lie. Mercer admitted this week that he doesn’t really have colon cancer.
He told a reporter with the Las Vegas Review-Journal that he regrets lying. He blamed it on being too embarrassed to reveal he actually has breast cancer. But no one can confirm that, and people think that’s a lie too. He said he suspects he has breast cancer, but hasn’t been diagnosed.
Oh, and here’s the best part: He’s refusing to pay back the money because he claims he really is sick. But he also just might not have it at this point. He got knocked out of the tournament a few hours in, and didn’t win any money.
GoFundMe Is Is Refunding
Thankfully, GoFundMe just stepped up. They have issued refunds to everyone who donated. They banned Rob from their site, and he’s been shunned by the poker world – which is not a pleasant thing to happen. But what he did is certainly worthy of shunning.
No word on what charges he may face yet, but that is most likely in the works.
The Review Journal article states that GoFundMe put out a statement saying they plan to cooperate with law enforcement if charges are filed.
Bad Karma all the way around for this guy.
