Good Sports: From Music to Poker to Hockey

Sunny Mehta, a former
professional poker
player, has been hired
by the National Hockey
League’s New Jersey
Devils to lead their
new analytics department. Born in
Michigan and raised in New Jersey, Mehta has
followed an atypical career path.

After earning a degree in jazz guitar and
studio music from University of Miami’s Frost
School of Music, he began his career as a
professional jazz musician in New Orleans.
He later spent seven years as a professional
poker player, and co-authored two bestselling
poker books.

In recent years, he has turned himself
into a stats guru and worked on quantitative
analysis of sports markets. He’ll use advanced
statistics to help the Devils evaluate players
and field the best team possible.

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