scam
Poker player fakes incurable colon cancer – and uses it to steal more than $30,000 in donations
Poker player Rob Mercer played with wrong cards (symbolic image)
© MFG_Fotografia / Getty Images
An amateur poker player really wanted to take part in the Poker World Cup. In order to raise the participation fee, he pretended to be terminally ill with cancer and collected donations.
As a poker player, Rob Mercer must be good at bluffing. But how the American got tens of thousands of US dollars can only be described as criminal audacity.
The 37-year-old from California wanted to take part in the main event of the World Series of Poker in July. However, the organizers demanded a participation fee of 10,000 US dollars (the equivalent of 9,400 euros). And Mercer couldn’t afford that out of his own pocket. His calculation: He wanted to have his participation in the event financed by strangers. That’s why Mercer faked it Suffering from colon cancer and started a fundraising campaign.
Poker player claimed he was about to die
According to US media, he claimed online that he had terminal colon cancer and claimed that he only had six months to a year and a half left. It was his lifelong dream to take part in the Poker World Championship on the legendary Las Vegas Strip. With the help of donations, he wants to fulfill this dream before he dies.
In fact, many people fell for this lie, felt sorry for him, and donated money to Mercer. A total of between 30,000 and 50,000 US dollars (the equivalent of 28,000 to 47,000 euros) is said to have been raised. Someone also wanted to finance his stay at the luxury hotel “Bellagio”.
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He still doesn’t want to pay back the donations
Mercer now confessed the truth to the Las Vegas Review-Journal: “I lied about colon cancer. I never had colon cancer. I just wanted to cover up my situation.” The poker player is remorseful: “What I did was wrong. I shouldn’t have told people that I had intestinal cancer. I’m very sorry that I wasn’t honest.”
Mercer can make up for his poker career, but he is considered ostracized in the industry. Nevertheless, it seems as if he has only learned very little from his misstep: the 37-year-old does not want to pay the money back despite his lie. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, he claims to have undiagnosed breast cancer. However, the online crowdfunding platform on which Mercer collected the donations wants to refund the money to the donors.
Sources: “Las Vegas Review Journal” / World Series of Poker
Gambling can be addictive. Participation in the game is permitted from 18 years of age. If gambling behavior can no longer be controlled, thoughts only revolve around gambling or if more money is lost than is available, these can be the first signs of problematic gambling behavior. Support Gamblers and relatives can receive free telephone advice from the Federal Center for Health Education (BZgA) on gambling addiction Telephone number 0800 137 27 00 and up: www.check-dein-spiel.de
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