Las Vegas: A poker player who claimed that he was suffering from terminal cancer and accepted thousands of dollars using the excuse admitted that he was lying. He used the donation to play in the World Series of Poker tournament in Las Vegas.
Rob Mercer told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that he submitted his stage 4 colon cancer diagnosis to his GoFundMe page in June, the newspaper reported Wednesday.
Mercer, of Vallejo, California, was trying to raise enough money to reach the $10,000 buy-in for the No-Limit Hold’em World Championship. He received donations worth between $30,000 and $50,000, including staying in a room at the Bellagio, reported Associated Press.
Even another Arizona player who was himself suffering from a chronic illness donated $2,500.
“I apologize for not being honest about my situation. If I had done that from day one, who knows what would have happened,” Mercer told the newspaper.
However, the 37-year-old said he would not refund anyone because he believes he has undiagnosed breast cancer. He said he was more or less banned from the poker community.