Rob Mercer Admits He Lied About Having Terminal Cancer to Enter WSOP ME

Summary:

• Mercer was labeled a scammer by the poker community after his fake cancer diagnosis
• He admitted to lying about having colon cancer but claimed he is suffering from a different form of cancer
• Mercer was sorry for what he did but has no plans to return the money he raised

Rob Mercer, who claimed to have colon cancer to raise money for his World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event entry, has admitted it was all a made-up story. The California native came clean in an exclusive phone interview with the Las Vegas Review Journal admitting that he lied about his condition, but he denied allegations that he is a scammer.

Mercer Accepts It Was A Lie

Mercer has attracted controversy in recent weeks following accusations he fabricated a terminal cancer diagnosis to get into the WSOP Main Event. In his GoFundMe campaign set up in June, Mercer claimed to be suffering from Stage 4 colon cancer and that his dream was to play the $10,000 WSOP Main Event. The poker community responded via donations that enabled him to fulfill one of his supposed final wishes.

Among those who donated were Hustler Casino Live (HCL) co-founder Nick Vertucci and budding poker influencer Doug Parscal Jr. who goes by the name “Snoopdoug” on Twitter. The duo recently found out that it was a fraud and labeled Mercer a “scammer”. After being exposed, Mercer deleted his social media accounts.

 

After weeks of staying silent, Mercer revealed through a phone conversation with the Las Vegas Review Journal that he did lie about having terminal cancer. But he rejected accusations that he duped the poker community, saying he only used the colon cancer diagnosis as a cover-up for his real condition.

In his interview with the news website, Mercer came up with a new claim – that he has male breast cancer and was not ready to share it with the public, though he never really consulted a doctor about it.

Mercer’s confession to the Las Vegas Review Journal was posted on Twitter by Snoopdoug. The poker influencer got access to Mercer’s text message through Cody Daniels, a chronically ill poker player from Arizona who became friends with Mercer during the WSOP this summer.

Rob Mercers (Confession) text messages in all its glory pic.twitter.com/9xMMK5M0Po

— Snoopdoug 🃏🧨💸 (@PuntingStacks) September 20, 2023

Daniels also initially believed Mercer’s story and even donated $2,500 to him to help him fulfill his dream. It was too late when Daniels realized Mercer just made up the whole thing.

Mercer Won’t Return the Money

Mercer was able to raise between $30,000 to $50,000 by claiming he was a terminally ill patient. He confirmed a representative from GoFundMe notified him that he violated its terms of service. While he admitted that what he did was wrong, Mercer would not repay the money, claiming that he has undiagnosed breast cancer and the poker community made the donations for his illness.