An amateur poker player says he has terminal cancer to raise money to enter the World Series of Poker Main Event.
He now admits he lied about his diagnosis.
Poker Players Lie About Cancer
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Rob Mercer, 37, of Vallejo, California, came out in June and said he had cancer in an effort to raise money, which he needed to buy the main event of the World Series of Poker, which takes place in Las Vegas in July, according to the Las Vegas Review Journal .
Mercer created a GoFundMe to raise money. Because of his story, he touched many fans, who in turn donated money to the poker player. In the end, he reportedly earned between $30,000 and $50,000, which allowed him to enter the tournament.
Fans began to question the poker player’s diagnosis because of his behavior in the July event. He reportedly gave vague answers to questions about his cancer diagnosis and failed to provide proof of his alleged terminal colon cancer diagnosis.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal also reported that several people saw Mercer gambling at the casino, where many approached him about his behavior, which in turn made Mercer defensive.
Rob Mercer Admits He Lied About Cancer Diagnosis
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Mercer eventually admitted to lying about his cancer diagnosis, telling the Review Journal, “I shouldn’t have told people I had colon cancer. I did that just as a spur of the moment thing when someone asked me what kind of cancer I had.”
This admission comes three months after the poker tournament, which took place in July.
Mercer went on to admit that, although she had not been officially diagnosed, she believed she had undiagnosed breast cancer and made up the colon cancer story because she was embarrassed to say she was dealing with a cancer not commonly found in men.
“I lied about having colon cancer,” Mercer admitted. “I don’t have colon cancer. I use it to cover up my situation.”
Because she believes she has breast cancer, the poker player said she has no intention of returning the money she earned through her GoFundMe.
“At the end of the day I lied to a lot of people because I was afraid to tell the truth,” Mercer said. “And I guess I’ll have to pay for that.”
Mercer Faces Backlash
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Following his apology, fans took to social media to express their disgust.
“So @WSOP or @gofundme please tell me you’re going to do something about this!!!! There are people who really need help. This piece of ? liar needs to understand the impact he has in pulling this stunt. (1/?),” a fan write.
As a user ask“Do you think the actions of poker player Rob Mercer, lying about terminal cancer to raise $30,000 for a tournament, should be forgiven or should they face dire consequences for their fraud and misuse of funds?”
While a user tweeted“The dismissal of this amateur poker player blew up in his face.”
And one fan called it “disgusting”, write“As a real poker player/dealer who has survived colon cancer this man is truly disgusting & a disgrace to the poker community.”
Mercer said he had no plans to play poker again because of his “declining health”.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
