The World Series of Poker live event is a prestigious tournament. Many poker players dream of participating in the event. In fact, most start preparing their funds, accommodation, and other issues months before the tournament kicks off.
The event’s operator is generous with satellite events that players can play through to qualify for a seat at the WSOP Main Event. This is a good way for people who cannot afford the high buy-in to participate in the event. Yet, one poker player could not take this route.
Rob Mercer chose to lie to the public to get the buy-in. The poker amateur used the worst possible reason to ask for funding.
The 37-year-old player lied about having terminal colon cancer. Rob knew claiming he had terminal cancer would appeal to people, and they would help him achieve his dream of playing at a WSOP Main Event before dying.
His plea was heard, which led to people contributing $12500 through a GoFundMe page. The player also received over $18,000 more through private donations.
Rob’s story attracted an interview from the Las Vegas Review-Journal back in July. During the interview, Rob said he felt like a celebrity fulfilling his dream. He said he had not experienced the kind of love he experienced that time when people came together to fund his dream.
Unfortunately, the same people who contributed to Rob’s cause started doubting his illness weeks later. The pressure was too much that Rob had to come clean and admit that he lied about having colon cancer. He admitted to doing wrong and explained he did it as a spur-of-the-moment thing.
Rob Still Has Dying Wish
You would expect that the poker player was sorry and repentant about his death wish. But that is not the case. Rob insists he probably has breast cancer.
The poker amateur was contacted again by the Las Vegas Review-Journal to clarify. He admitted to lying but insisted he still had cancer.
Rob told Review-Journal that he believed he had breast cancer but had not been diagnosed yet. According to Rob, colon cancer is less embarrassing than breast cancer, and that is why he said he had the former.
Coby Daniels was one of the people in the poker world that contributed to Mercer’s cause. This was sweet of him, considering he actually has a terminal illness.
Meanwhile, Rob is complaining about how people are treating him. He says that people are making him some kind of monster or a vindictive villain who planned the whole idea months before the WSOP event. He believes it is crazy for people to think that.
Humble Convincing
When Rob created the GoFundMe page, he described himself as a semi-professional poker player. He said he did not have the money to buy into a prestigious event like the WSOP Main Event and expressed his need to fulfill his dream before dying.
Rob admits to contemplating abandoning the idea for a while because of his pride. However, due to his dream to play in the WSOP Main Event, he had to seek help, even if it took lying.
