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Amateur poker player admits to lying about having terminal cancer to raise $10,000 buy-in for poker tournament



A poker player crowdsourced tens of thousands of dollars on GoFundMe, having told sympathetic souls he was dying of stage 4 colon cancer and wanted to fulfill his dream of playing at the World Series of Poker's main event before shuffling off this mortal coil.

It turns out, however, it was all a hoax.

Rob Mercer of Vallejo, California, admitted to the Las Vegas Review-Journal Tuesday — which he had previously fooled — that he does not have terminal colon cancer.

"I did lie about having colon cancer. I don't have colon cancer. I used that to cover my situation," said Mercer, who had attended the poker tournament with his dad. "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."

Mercer suggested that he lied about having colon cancer because he was embarrassed to admit that he had breast cancer, another grievous condition there is reportedly no evidence that he has.

The fake story helped Mercer bag donations estimated to be valued between $30,000 and $50,000.

$2,500 came from Cody Daniels, a chronically ill poker player from Arizona who also entered the WSOP's No-limit Hold'em World Championship that ran July 3-17.

Daniels noted on X, "I learned a $2500 lesson. Sadly, my kindness was taken for weakness once again. Just a shame. That's all I can say."

A screenshot of the GoFundMe page obtained by the New York Post reveals how Mercer framed his plea.

"Hey Everyone, my name is Rob, I am a 37 year old semi professional Poker Player with Terminal Cancer, I found myself going back and forth wondering if I was ever going to do this because my pride means a lot to me and I never like asking people for help, But my dream has always been to play the World Series of Poker Main Event," wrote Mercer.

The fraudster added, "I was conflicted on whether I would ever play it in my lifetime, but in August of last year I was diagnosed with Terminal Cancer and I was told that my timetable wasn't very promising, anywhere from 6 months to 18 months depending on how rapidly it progresses, Ive [sic] been fighting hard for months now and my body is definitely doing its best but I can feel the sickness draining on me physically and mentally."

GoFundMe announced Wednesday it would be providing refunds to those who were scammed by Mercer. However, not all donors helped out via the crowdsourcing platform.

The Review-Journal indicated that extra to the $12,500 he raised from GoFundMe and the donations he received privately, Mercer also received a free suite at Bellagio during the tournament.

Mercer told the Review-Journal he has no intention of paying anyone back, suggesting he might have cancer after all.

Nick Vertucci, the creator and producer of the "Hustler Casino Live" poker stream, was among the donors who helped get Mercer to the WSOP table.

Vertucci spoke the Review-Journal about Mercer's entry before the 37-year-old's scam was exposed, saying, "I was so overwhelmed, I just got on the speaker and said, 'Hey, it's booked. I got you.' ... It chokes me up because we walk around so blessed and we don't realize it. This kid's fighting for his life, so I'm just so happy he gets to play."

After learning of the deception, Vertucci wrote on X, "Breast cancer my a**! And the lies continue. Next will be I don't have breast cancer, I was too embarrassed to say I have testicle cancer. The only cancer is you Rob!"

Vertucci told the Review-Journal, "I don’t want the kid to have cancer. Ultimately, I'd rather him just be a bad person."

"They're making me out to be some kind of monster, like this vindictive villain who planned this months in advance," said the fraudster, who reportedly feigned to get a doctor's note for the benefit of the poker community and maintained the charade for several weeks."It's just crazy. But I understand. I get it."

Mercer may be adept at lying, but he doesn't appear to be any good at poker, having been eliminated from the WSOP main event just a few hours into the tournament.

Here is one of the pleas made on Mercer's behalf by a donor who fell for his scam:

Living The Dream: Poker Community Rallies for Rob Mercer's WSOP Journeyyoutu.be

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Sex offender sentenced to life in prison for brutal rape and murder of professional poker player, who was burned alive to play out a 'depraved sexual fantasy'



A sex offender in Michigan was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of brutally raping and murdering a professional poker player.

On July 13, 2020, the body of professional poker player Susie “Susie Q” Zhao, 33, was discovered in a wooded area of Pontiac Lake State Recreation Area in Lake Township, Michigan. Zhao suffered burns to at least 90% of her body. The body was burned so badly that the men who found the body first thought it was a mannequin.

The woman had been burned alive, according to deputy medical examiner Dr. Andrew Hanosh. He told the court during a preliminary hearing in 2020 that Zhao's tongue had been burned, her hair had been singed off, and smoke and soot were present in her airways and lungs, leading Hanoush to determine that Zhao was alive when she was set on fire.

Police suspect that Jeffery Bernard Morris, 62, tied her up with zip ties, doused her with gasoline, and burned her alive.

Phone records showed there were eight calls between Morris and Zhao on July 12, 2020, according to White Lake Police Department detective Thomas Sorasin.

Around 9:26 p.m. on July 12, Morris and Zhao met at the Sherwood Motel in Waterford, Michigan. However, cellphone tower records indicated that they both traveled from the motel to a remote part of the recreational area, according to testimony from an FBI agent.

The autopsy indicated that Zhao was raped so violently that she suffered extensive damage to her genitals from being punched or hit with another object, according to The Daily Mail.

The Oakland Press reported, "During the trial, the prosecution said the rape and slaying was Morris playing out a depraved sexual fantasy. Evidence was presented from his cell phone and internet searches involving brutality against Asian women and slaves, bondage, and more, as well as sexual encounters in remote, wooded areas — similar to where Zhao’s body was found."

Morris was previously convicted of a sex crime in 1989.

Morris was pulled over and arrested on a warrant on July 31, 2020.

Prosecutors said cellphone tower records pinned Morris to the hotel room he rented and to the Pontiac Lake State Recreation Area. Investigators also discovered DNA from Morris during the autopsy of the slain poker player.

Last month, Morris was convicted of first-degree murder as well as felony murder with an underlying charge of second-degree criminal sexual conduct. On Thursday, Morris was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

During the sentencing, Judge Martha Anderson told Morris, "I cannot get over the brutality of this murder and the needlessness of it all."

"You took advantage of an individual who was fragile, and basically destroyed everything she had accomplished in her life," Anderson said.

Zhao had fairly recently been diagnosed with schizophrenia, according to her friends.

Morris told the judge that he planned to appeal.

He told the courtroom, "This time, I’m not gonna say anything. There’s a lot I’d like to say. This time I’m not gonna say anything. I’ll wait till I come back for an appeal and begin again."

New details emerge about murdered professional poker player's final hours www.youtube.com