Major League Eating insists it was Joey Chestnut's decision not to vie for his 17th Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating title in 18 years in Brooklyn, New York, this Fourth of July.'
Chestnut says that's bologna.'
What's not in dispute is that Chestnut's absence stems from a new sponsorship deal he has with Impossible Foods, which makes a plant-based hot dog. That's sacrilege to Nathan's, apparently, but it's not like Chestnut's gone vegan. To wit, he'll rekindle his rivalry with six-time Nathan's champ Takeru Kobayashi on Sept. 2 in a one-on-one Netflix competition in which the pair will consume all-beef franks.
Only once since 2001 has someone other than those two competitors walked away from Coney Island a winner on Independence Day. That was in 2015, when Matt Stonie defeated Chestnut by two dogs, 62-60. Chestnut would later go on to set the all-time event record, consuming 76 wieners in 2021.
No Chestnut's a bummer, for sure. But the silver lining for sports bettors is that this makes for a far more wide open men's competition. (Those interested in the women's side of things can bet against nine-time champ Miki Sudo – a -1600 favorite at DraftKings – at their peril.)
This year's men's favorite, Geoffrey Esper (-120), mowed down 47 dogs in 2022 to finish second. He finished third in 2019, consuming the same amount of tube steaks.'
James Webb (2/1), Nick Wehry (+550), and Patrick Bertoletti (8/1) have also been on the podium before. It's been a minute, however, since Bertoletti reached such heights, having seemingly hit his prime in the early twenty-teens.
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Here are @DKSportsbook's splits on Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest (men's division) thus far. pic.twitter.com/X4khtRYaNo