Poker Player Who Fibbed to Join World Series of Poker Drops Unbelievable Cancer Illness Excuse

It would take much to join a big event like the World Series of Poker. That entails a lot of money, and some resort to unusual ways to reach that grand stage.

However, the tale of a 37-year-old man from Vallejo, California, identified as Rob Mercer, is the most unthinkable to date.

Mercer resorted to an unusual way of raising the $10,000 needed to get into the world's most prestigious poker event in Las Vegas back in July, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.

The 37-year-old put up a GoFundMe, making people believe he was dealing with terminal colon cancer. The ploy worked with Mercer, raising between $30,000 to $50,000 and joining the tournament.

However, those present at the poker event grew suspicious of Mercer. The 37-year-old shared vague responses and could not provide concrete proof that he had terminal colon cancer.

Mercer apologizes

Mercer recently cleared the air on that controversial time, but not before claiming he was dealing with cancer differently.

"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," Mercer said.

One donor who deals with chronic illness, Cody Daniels, apparently contributed $2,500 to Mercer's bogus cause. Now, he hopes that others who were conned can still get their money back, the New York Post reported.

Mercer won't return the money

As far as returning the money, Mercer allegedly does not have any plans of doing so. This is because he now claims to have breast cancer, something unusual considering he is a man, per TMZ.

The only thing certain for Mercer is that his poker-playing days are allegedly over due to deteriorating health. He added to the Las Vegas Review-Journal that he now spends 18 hours daily in bed.