Tiger Woods in 2000. Roger Federer at Wimbledon. Serena Williams not on clay. Joey Chestnut at Coney Island.
The No. 1 ranked competitive eater in the world has put himself so far ahead of the field, the sports comparisons get a bit out of hand.
But in hot dog eating, the competition is just lambs being taken to the slaughter.
The Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest is basically The Masters of the Major League Eating circuit, and Chestnut won his first in 2007. Since then he’s taken 13 of the last 14, with only a victory by Matt Stonie in 2015 breaking up his string.
And in a way the loss was good for him, as he fell 62-60 that year to “Megatoad” Stonie. The failure made Chestnut push harder, as he shattered the previous record in 2016 with a massive 70 hot dogs eaten. Every year since he’s gone over 70, and his 75 in the pandemic-induced and thus climate-controlled contest of 2020, the current record.
But the bigger issue is there are no current contenders to the throne. Darron Breeden finished second last year, and lost by 33 dogs to Chestnut. Is there even a chance anyone can challenge “Joey Jaws?” The oddsmakers clearly believe not.
Odds to win the 2021 Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest from DraftKings Sportsbook:
Joey Chestnut: -3335 (89% of action, 14% of bets)
Any other contestant: +900 (11% of action, 86% of bets)
Total hot dogs eaten by Joey Chestnut:
Over 73.5: -143 (34% of action, 25% of bets)
Under 73.5: +110 (66% of action, 75% of bets)
Over 74.5: +120 (1% of action, 33% of bets)
Under 74.5: -162 (99% of action, 67% of bets)
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