Current:Home > BackPoker player Rob Mercer admits lying about having terminal cancer in bid to get donations-InfoLens
Poker player Rob Mercer admits lying about having terminal cancer in bid to get donations
View Date:2024-12-23 15:41:30
Las Vegas — An amateur poker player who said he had terminal cancer and accepted thousands of dollars in donations so he could play in a World Series of Poker tournament in Las Vegas now admits it was all a lie.
Rob Mercer told the Las Vegas Review-Journal he made up a stage 4 colon cancer diagnosis for his GoFundMe page in June, the newspaper reported Wednesday.
"I did lie about having colon cancer. I don't have colon cancer. I used that to cover my situation," Mercer told the paper.
"What I did was wrong," he continued. "I shouldn't have told people I have colon cancer. I did that just as a spur-of-the-moment thing when someone asked me what kind of cancer I had."
Mercer, of Vallejo, California, was trying to raise enough funds to meet the $10,000 buy-in for the No-limit Hold'em World Championship. He received contributions worth between $30,000 and $50,000, including a stay at a suite in the Bellagio. Even a fellow player from Arizona who suffers from chronic illness donated $2,500.
"I'm sorry for not being honest about what my situation was. If I would have done that from Day One, who knows what would have happened," Mercer remarked to the newspaper.
However, the 37-year-old says he won't be refunding anyone because he believes he has undiagnosed breast cancer.
He said he has been more or less banished from the poker community.
Mercer confirmed to the Vegas-Review that GoFundMe got in touch with him about violating its terms of service.
People who donated to Mercer were notified late Wednesday by GoFundMe that they'd be getting refunds, according to the newspaper.
veryGood! (3)
Related
- The Best Gifts for Men – That He Won’t Want to Return
- Stock market today: Asian shares drop after disappointing US inflation data sends Dow down
- Black cemeteries are being 'erased.' How advocates are fighting to save them
- Second new Georgia reactor begins splitting atoms in key step to making electricity
- Princess Kate to host annual Christmas carol service following cancer treatment
- 2 suspected gang members arrested after 4 killed in Los Angeles-area shootings
- Kylie Jenner Flaunts Her Toned Six Pack in New Photos
- Ukrainian military says it sank a Russian landing ship in the Black Sea
- The Masked Singer's Ice King Might Be a Jonas Brother
- California may have to pay $300M for COVID-19 homeless hotel program after FEMA caps reimbursement
Ranking
- San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich had mild stroke this month, team says
- What is income tax? What to know about how it works, different types and more
- A Wyoming police officer is dead, shot while issuing warning
- 'Will that be separate checks?' The merits of joint vs. separate bank accounts
- A $1 billion proposal is the latest plan to refurbish and save the iconic Houston Astrodome
- Disneyland cast members announce plans to form a union
- Oklahoma country radio station won't play Beyoncé's new song. Here's why
- Six-time All-Star DeMar DeRozan addresses mental health in new series 'Dinners with DeMar'
Recommendation
-
Shocked South Carolina woman walks into bathroom only to find python behind toilet
-
Pac-12 Conference countersues Holiday Bowl amid swirling changes
-
Amid artificial intelligence boom, AI girlfriends - and boyfriends - are making their mark
-
NATO chief says Trump comment undermines all of our security
-
See Leonardo DiCaprio's Transformation From '90s Heartthrob to Esteemed Oscar Winner
-
Illegal border crossings from Mexico plunge after a record-high December, with fewer from Venezuela
-
Some Americans Don’t Have the Ability to Flush Their Toilets. A Federal Program Aimed at Helping Solve That Problem Is Expanding.
-
King Charles III Returns to London Amid Cancer Battle