2/3 of the MLE top 9 are expected in this weekend's contests at the Wind Creek Throwdown in Atmore, AL: Joey Chestnut, Matt Stonie, Tim Janus, Miki Sudo, Adrian Morgan & Michelle Lesco.  

12 Comments »

  1. Anonymous said

    March 25, 2014 @ 2:10 pm

    That would be a bigger deal if MLE had more than 15-20 members these days lol

  2. Anonymous said

    March 25, 2014 @ 2:58 pm

    2/3 of the top 9 in attendance is not a good thing, at least not for the eaters. Prizes aren’t growing, but the competition is, so now it’s harder for eaters to make money/cover their expenses. I think unless prizes start growing in the near future, you’ll see a lot of disenchantment among even the top eaters.

  3. Solomon's Smarts said

    March 25, 2014 @ 4:09 pm

    Only a third of those two thirds of the top nine will make enough to offset their travel and lodging expenses. The three staying away demonstrate wisdom in doing so.

  4. anonymous said

    March 25, 2014 @ 4:45 pm

    The sad part is the few that still hang around that are no longer making money .Move on man

  5. Anonymous said

    March 25, 2014 @ 5:34 pm

    And that my friends is why most of us don’t travel anymore. No chance to recoupe travel expenses as the winners are pre-selected.

  6. anonymous said

    March 25, 2014 @ 6:41 pm

    Hey if they can dish out $500 here and there to travel and clap their hands watching Joey Chestnut walk away with most of the prize money then they are either very wealthy or very foolish

  7. anonymous said

    March 25, 2014 @ 6:47 pm

    Breaking it down as far as each eater competing at Windcreek. Chestnut is still parlaying his winnings from the past 8yrs so he can travel on his prize money alone for years to come . Stonie comes from a well to do family . They might even be listed in the social register for all we know. Janus picked up 100grand from Millionaire show and is probably living off the interest. Sudo made some big money independently and she might be getting appearance fees or getting flown out. Adrian and Michelle might be the only eaters actually paying their way out of their own pockets

  8. Jam.Josh said (Registered April 11, 2013)

    March 25, 2014 @ 8:29 pm

    If you’re doing competitive eating as a money making venture then you probably need to rethink things in general unless you are committed to consistently training (and know how to train which there is no documented method available which has proven effective). If your frustrated you can’t compete then do something about it to make yourself better. It is possible to get better, Joey, Matt, Janus, all started out only hitting around 20 hotdogs and buns.
    Most of us are in it because its fun and for the most part everyone is pretty cool. Ya, there are travel expenses which is a given. Everyone is located all over the country so its impossible to accommodate everyone. Places like Atmore, AL aren’t big travel hubs so they are a pretty expensive to travel to. However, larger more traveled to places (Las Vegas, Chicago, St.Paul, etc…) are pretty reasonable depending where you live and don’t cost an arm and a leg. It’s nice to cover your expenses but it’s always a gamble. It’s still a competition and yes Joey and Miki are going to be at most of them along with Matt but some events offer pretty good prize money so taking 4th and 5th and pocketing $200-$400 it’s too far fetched.

  9. Anonymous said

    March 25, 2014 @ 8:52 pm

    Anon at 647 Who taught you math, Obama? Unless the Sheas pay airfare straight up, everyone you listed is paying out of pocket regardless of how they earned it.

  10. anonymous said

    March 25, 2014 @ 9:00 pm

    Ok you can look at it that way but its still money they won and not earned at a day job so it is basically free ride

  11. anonymous said

    March 25, 2014 @ 10:48 pm

    Joey and Miki are getting flown out to every event . It is in the contract a special contract privy to certain eaters. The rest of you sorry but no cigar

  12. Shell said

    March 28, 2014 @ 2:37 pm

    If you don’t compete with people better than you, you’ll never have to push yourself to the limits, and you won’t reach your potential and continue to improve. Yeah, it sucks to not make your money back on travel, but the time you eventually beat a top 10 eater makes it all worth it. We’re COMPETITIVE eaters. I wanna be challenged. I want the odds to be against me. Because I want to see what I’m really capable of. Plus, if I walk away with even a little money, it’s still like taking a discounted vacation to do something I enjoy.

RSS feed for comments on this post · TrackBack URI

Leave a Comment

Log in | Register | Comments by users who have not logged in will be held for approval