DraftKings Data Science Engineer Sumanth Reddy Rounds Out the Squad
The 50th Annual World Series of Poker (WSOP) kicks off today with $500 buy-in Event #1: Casino Employees Event. The tournament is open to those who either work in casinos or in the gaming industry, and thanks to their sportsbook in New Jersey, DraftKings personnel are permitted to play.
They’ll be well represented in their first year of eligibility as a team of six players traveled from the East Coast to compete for the summer’s first bracelet. PokerNews caught up with each DraftKings employee – one of which is already a WSOP bracelet winner – talk about the opening event of the 2019 WSOP.
Sumanth Reddy
Age: 32
DraftKings Position: Data Science Engineer
Rounding out the DraftKings team is Sumanth Reddy, who graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with a degree in Economics.
“My very supportive family includes a younger sister and two parents who have long been horrified by my interest in poker,” he said. “Rightly so of course, because it’s a dumb luck game and I have no skill.”
He continued: “It’s debatable that I’ve ever truly learned to play poker. My first time looking at cards and throwing chips into a pot was in high school. It was at this time that I believed you should play any hand with a face card, and that it was truly possible to read a person’s soul. Additionally, in your heart, some select people could know the perfect, winning decision, in every single hand.”
Reddy has played the WSOP before where he says his claim to fame is successfully bluffing Phil Ivey.
“No one approved of how I played the hand in any way, but that’s not important,” he offered.
Like many others, Reddy thinks Asad is the DraftKings man to beat.
“He is easily one of the luckiest people I’ve ever met, shipping bad beat jackpots and winning on days that I don’t. He hasn’t been playing poker very long, so he will clearly be underestimated by his competition. This perfect storm of factors is why I believe he is the overwhelming favorite to win the entire tournament.”