ShareRob Mercer has confirmed that he lied about having terminal cancer to solicit donations to play in the World Series of Poker. The Californian told the Las Vegas Review Journal he was sorry about his dishonesty and it was just a spur-of-the-moment decision that spiralled out of control.
GoFundMe Refunds Mercer’s Victims
Although a few people connected with the fundraising for Mercer later said they had suspicions, it wasn’t until the end of August that public accusations were made public.
Mercer had described himself as a 37-year-old who was suffering from terminal stage 4 cancer of the colon and had 6 to 18 months to live.
Hustler Casino Live co-founder Nick Vertucci was one high-profile character from the poker world who stepped in to help raise funds. But people quickly started to feel that something was amiss.
For starters, there was a complaint about the Bellagio suite he stayed in at no cost to himself—most people would have still been eternally grateful given the trip was gratis.
Snoopdoug from X/Twitter, a fellow Californian who helped Mercer out raising funds, admitted he should have vetted him at the start but felt uncomfortable asking somebody who claimed to be dying for proof.
Mercer received donations far beyond the $10,000 needed to play in the WSOP Main Event. It is estimated that he may have walked away with as much as $50,000.
This included $2,500 from Cody Daniels, a poker player who is genuinely battling cancer and who also received donations to play in Las Vegas this summer.
Speaking to Las Vegas Review Journal, Rob Mercer said:
“I did lie about having colon cancer. I don’t have colon cancer. I used that to cover my situation. What I did was wrong. 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.
“I’m sorry for not being honest about what my situation was. If I would have done that from Day 1, who knows what would have happened.”
Fundraising platform GoFundMe contacted Mercer for clarification on the matter and was told that no money will be repaid as he claims to have undiagnosed male breast cancer.
GoFundMe said it has begun to refund the $12,025 that was raised through its platform but all private donations are obviously lost in the wind.
“GoFundMe has zero tolerance for the misuse of our platform and takes swift action against those who exploit the generosity of our community.
“We have removed this fundraiser for violating our terms of service, all donors have been fully refunded, and Rob Mercer has been banned from using the platform for any future fundraisers. Additionally, GoFundMe cooperates with law enforcement investigations of those formally accused of wrongdoing.”
