Arturo Rios, Jr. wins NYC Civil Service
The New York Times blog has an entry about Kobayashi which mentions today’s Nathan’s qualifier held in Manhattan. The qualifier is called the Civil Service qualifier, but the winner was not a goverment worker:
At noon today in the food court of the Manhattan Mall in Midtown, Major League Eating held the second-to-last of 13 qualifiers for next week’s Nathan’s contest. Seven men took part; the winner was Arturo Rios Jr., 30, of Long Branch, N.J., a driver for The Daily News, who consumed 27.5 hot dogs and buns in 12 minutes.
Allen Goldstein came in second with 26 HDB, giving him the wild card lead.
Tim Brown has considerable reason to be upset with Rios being allowed to compete, as this denied him the wild card slot.
update NY1 has an article and video about the contest
update #2 Metro and amNY have articles about the contest.
Metro says the contest was “billed as a chance for an “ordinary eater” or civil servant to join next week’s ultra-competitive field” Apparently Rios’ rank of #9 in the current IFOCE poll qualified him as an “ordinary eater”
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Anonymous said
June 27, 2007 @ 5:33 pm
I call complete and total Bulls*%t.
Anonymous said
June 27, 2007 @ 5:52 pm
Did Brian have to do the exhibition by himself?
Luther
liz said
June 27, 2007 @ 6:00 pm
Bummer, Tim. What was the reasoning here I wonder?
Congrats to Arturo, though! Everyone was saying he’d make it this year.
Anonymous said
June 27, 2007 @ 6:04 pm
For the record, Goldstein who is a goverment worker ate a personal best of 26 HDB.
Philly Guy said
June 27, 2007 @ 6:09 pm
Good job Arturo. Anyone that can improve by 6.5 dogs in 6 days is truly amazing. Lets hope I can do that tomorrow and hit the duce.
Anonymous said
June 27, 2007 @ 6:16 pm
You don’t have to be a government worker to be in this contest?
The_Hangman said (Registered August 30, 2006)
June 27, 2007 @ 7:07 pm
My impression was you had to be a civil service employee to enter this contest. Sorry but did not know that anyone, including myself, could of signed up for this event.
Tim Brown said
June 27, 2007 @ 9:48 pm
This totally ruins my day. I was under the impression that you had to be a government employee to get in to this one or I might have considered entering. NYC is totally more fun than North Carolina (no offense to the great state of NC). Oh well…congrats to Arturo and Shredder.
Tim Brown said
June 27, 2007 @ 10:05 pm
So since I work at a strip club does that mean I could have entered this one?
We entertain a lot of government employees!
Anonymous said
June 27, 2007 @ 10:12 pm
Tim Brown was massively screwed over, end of story. People we need to be outraged over this. Tim Brown put major time, effort and money into this thing and it was tossed away with out a thought. Lets voice our concern.
? said
June 27, 2007 @ 10:43 pm
Who ever said you must be a government worker? I think that’s just something the Seiken’s of the world thought up a long time ago to try and get a slot….. good thing Badlands came in and represented for a while.
But the contest was right there online to sign up for like any other…. if I’m not mistaken.
But who cares anyway? The MLE/IFOCE does what they want anyway…. I mean how can Carey Poehlman get “banned” from events, when this Pat Bruss guy gets to do events for both? And he’s at least been in the top 3 before…. same can’t be said for the guy the excluded. Why make an example of him?
“Que cera cera”
But seriously….. good work Arturo! You’re the mac-daddy and one of the only up and comers who’s still up and coming…. the rest have just plateaued. Well, maybe Kong continues to improve too….. Kick some Coney ASS!!
The Natural said (Registered October 5, 2006)
June 27, 2007 @ 11:58 pm
Thanks everyone..It wasnt easy…those who were there know it was a struggle..truely the hardest thing ive ever done. Thanks to Tim janus and Badlands for coming out to show me shredder and the other eaters some love. Thank you Crazy Legs for Also showing up but especially for taking the time to explain the rules to me last week at Molly Pitcher, I give u the credit for my .5 at the end. A huuuugge thank you to Charles Hardy for getting me back on track n keeping me focused, you always great to have at any contest, I owe my win to you. Shredder and his wife for being soo nice to me from day 1. Those who have seen me lately know how out of shape I am and came in totally unprepared with noooo type of training, just showed up and ate. Please dont take it as a slap in the face or disrespect to the sport, I love CE and will try balance things so I can be more of a presence. Im crazzzy retardedly happy and shocked I got in. Sooooooooooooooooo happy!!Im just rambling now..I’ll shut up and go to bed. P.S. Hey anonymous…I still made the exhibition with B.B., I lost tho…the man was a machine today!!
Luther 's friend said
June 28, 2007 @ 12:27 am
so sorry for Tim Brown.
beautifulbrian said
June 28, 2007 @ 1:44 am
I feel very bad for Allen but at least he made it in. . I dont know Tim Brown but i guess he must be pretty dissapointed. Cant blame him. I am elated that Arturo is in. I have been in CE for 10 years and i have never met a nicer classier all around person than Arturo. I beat Arturo in the 2 min exhibition 6-5? but by the skin of my teeth. He had a full stomach and still put on a show . I believe he would have smoked me on an empty stomach. For those that missed it , the SNY segment will be up and running on my site tommorow unless someone else wants to post it first.
Anonymous said
June 28, 2007 @ 1:48 am
The IFOCE is so messed up, why do people who win qualifiers like Dale boone with 21 get to go, but guys like MOngo, and Tim Brown get left out in the cold even though they can eat more than guys like Boone adn Crazy legs. I guess they just have to pick their qualifiers more wisely. Even Rich levere, why should he have to 100 hotdogs in 3 contests to get into Coney, just let that poor bastard in, even HUmble Bob, these guys can eat over 30, and everyone is all excited about eaters that reach the high 20’s. Big deal, there is a handful of eaters that eat 30+ and thats the bottom line. Those eaters are the only one’s who have a shot at money. Then there’s these eaters like poor Eric the REd and Tim Brown traveling across the country to get in Coney. I think it is completely messed up. They should have qualifiers for anyone who can hit the deuce, then they should be aloud to compete in Coney, if not the deuce then 23 or 25 HDB’s at least then it will have some fairness for the guys who can eat more than other people who win at qualifiers with a less total than an eater who gets 2nd or 3rd when they face top eaters. TOTAL BULLSH@%@%!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Anonymous said
June 28, 2007 @ 1:50 am
Tim Brown should protest like a mothafu@#$^()!!! to the IFOCE MLE
beautifulbrian said
June 28, 2007 @ 2:36 am
Check that. The show was repeated early this morning . I think it was a tie i dont think i beat Arturo . He had a bun left over . It was just for fun so no big deal. Two corrections. They referred to me as the reighning Carnegie pickle champ. That is not true. I do not hold the title any longer. They also credited me with being the pig feets eating champ which is not only false but a big blunder on their end. I was pointing to Arturo when he credited me with the title . The camera didnt pick up on it and i couldnt speak because my mouth was full.
wino said
June 28, 2007 @ 7:01 am
OK…OK so I am bias. Tim Brown gut the hosing of the century. Where is the justice. If I didn’t know better I would say that Vince McMahon was running the deal promoting who he wanted rather than who actually earned the right to Coney Island.
Philly Guy said
June 28, 2007 @ 7:09 am
It sucks for Tim Brown, but Nathan’s is a showcase of the best eaters we have. So someone that can do 27.5 deserves the spot more than someone that maxes out in the mid 20’s. Hopefully there will be an extra spot at the table for Tim.
SuperPaul said
June 28, 2007 @ 7:37 am
Tim, I’m glad you showed up in North Carolina. It was great meeting you, and you’ll get in Coney Island next year, and the year after that, and so on and so forth. Get ready for Krystal season – I think they are having a strip club worker/attendee qualifier!!
carey poehlmann said
June 28, 2007 @ 7:40 am
So wait a minute, if it was open to everyone, why was it called the “Civil Service Qualifier” which would make it sound like one put on as a token of appreciation for those in the civil service? Sure, if Arturo didn’t win, Goldstein would have won, leaving Tim’s wildcard in tack, but you can’t say that he was robbed because someone did end up with a higher total. I actually would have thought it was robbery if Arturo WASN’T allowed to compete, because he is a great eater, and how many civil service workers actually competitively eat, and why does my mailman deserve a special qualifier anyway? Is there another part of the story I am missing?
and in response to update #2- that is only what Metro reported, doesn’t mean that is what IFOCE planned. You know how acurate papers are about Competitive Eating.
Good luck Goldstein and Rios, great numbers.
Allen "The Shredder" said
June 28, 2007 @ 10:04 am
Ok, I think it’s about time I chime in. First, congratulations to Arturo for a great job. You really pulled that one out of your a**. Just goes to show you that past performances no matter how recent can not predict what you can do on any given day. As for the Civil Service concept, any one who works and gets paid by the city, state, or government is a CS employee. I really don’t know (and probably will never) what prompted the events to get Arturo in that contest. As I was told they wanted the contest to be more competitive since all of the CS workers are not pro eaters. To set the record straight, I was not looking for an easy win. As a goverment employee and since I live in NY it just made sense for me to do this contest. Besides, most of the qualifiers this season were land slide wins. No sour grapes here, I made it to Coney and did a personal best of which I am very proud of. I do feel bad for Tim Brown because he worked very hard to try to make it in and I know what it feels like to lose the wild card by the skin of your teeth.
Lovelylady said (Registered June 28, 2007)
June 28, 2007 @ 10:36 am
I always thought that the competitve eaters were very “cool” and “level-headed”, but it seems that there are soo many haters. I read the articles on Arturo and I think it’s amazing how you scarfed down 5 more hotdogs in less than a week–kudos!!! Goldstein, you did an amazing job as well.
By the way, Beatiful Brian I believe you did a great job on tv, as well Arturo.
I ask myself, what happened to “good sportsmenship.” I think some people forget that this is a competition and there will always be losses and wins, and you must learn to take the good with the bad.
Tim Brown, a wild card is just that-best of luck in your other competitions and better luck next year with the qualifiers and I hope you are at Nathan’s next year, because people who work hard deserve to be in it.
Not everyone can qualify for such a spectacular event, therefore if you continue your hard work and training then you can make it for next year’s event.
Congratulations to all of those who qualified, best of luck to everyone–again not everyone can take first, second and third place-so take pride in knowing that you were amongst the few that were able to compete.
Just a side note, “Anonymous” why are you always so angry and nasty.. Try something-a little cheerfulness
Rhonda Evans said
June 28, 2007 @ 10:47 am
Tim certainly has a right to be upset. However, he will be happy in the end because Tim WILL be given a Wild Card slot to appear on July 4th.
The table needs to have 20 eaters, and there aren’t enough qualifiers left to fill the remaining slots. In that light especially, it would be a monumental travesty to pass up an opportunity to award a second wild card spot to someone with such a lofty three-qualifier total.
Tim will be there as sure as Kobayashi will be there.
Rhonda Evans said
June 28, 2007 @ 11:01 am
You can’t just say if an eater eats over 20 or another predetermined amount then he or she deserves a spot at Coney. Comparisons must be made against one’s peers. Otherwise you’d need a table for 30 or more eaters and that’s too many.
You have to have limits, so that you can have a controlled, organized, well run event. Twenty should be the absolute maximum.
beautifulbrian said
June 28, 2007 @ 11:26 am
Maybe some of you just dont get it. Goldstein beating up on a bunch of civil service duds makes zero dollars. Goldstein beating Rios or the other way around is good for biz. It’s never a personal thing with the Shea’s . It’s all about selling a show. If they could find an angle around it (Rios working for the daily news is somehow considered civil service) then they will jump on it. I have a problem dealing with out of town civil service entrants. I competed in the contest since its inception and from what i was told, NYC state , city and federal workers only. Thats how it was all these years when Hardy competed , why should the rules all of a sudden change? To avoid controversy with civil service , a Coney qualifier similar to last year might have been well justified featuring Arturo , Tim Brown and a few other hopefuls that couldnt win the previous qualifiers. I have yet to speak with Goldstein . I am sure he is quite upset not winning outright but thats the breaks. Considering the turn of events i think its obvious if Goldstein won Molly Pitcher i wasnt about to be handed a freebie at civil service.
NY Wings Guy said
June 28, 2007 @ 12:09 pm
Simple solution… Add another wildcard spot to the Nathan’s final. Whoa… I am a frickin’ genius. Didn’t they have 2 wildcard spots last year anyways? Why only one this year? What a bunch of brajoles!
NY Wings Guy said
June 28, 2007 @ 12:33 pm
See, I come up with an idea and it’s immediately adopted. Pure gold, baby!
Lovelylady said
June 28, 2007 @ 12:36 pm
I always thought that ALL the competitive gurgitator’s were “cool” and level-headed” but it seems there are a couple haters out there. In any case congratulations Arturo. Amazing how you scarfed 6 more hotdogs down in less than a week–kudos!!!
By the way, Beautiful Brian you did a great job on the SNY segment and congratulations on your 10years!!! It’s nice how you always have some positive to bring to the table.
I think we all need to realize that a wild card is just that–a wild card, Tim Brown, best of luck next year and continue your hard work and training!!
I think there’s a need for “good sportsmanship”. In a competition, not everyone can win; therefore it’s necessary to accept your wins as well as your losses. Take pride in all and everything you do, whether it’s a win or loss; because the loss of a competition should want to make you try a new strategy and do better for next time (not bring out the worst in an individual but bring out the best). Humble Bob takes the #1 prize in good sportsmanship!! (not that he is the only one, but def knows hot to handle it)
I also wanted to congratulate all of you who did qualify for Nathan’s, best of luck to you all—of course not everyone can take on 1st, 2nd, 3rd so if this isn’t the year for you to win- then make the best of it and take pride & delight in knowing that you did qualify and your hard work and training does show for something!!
A side note “Anonymous” why so nasty and mean? Try something new-a compliment and a little happiness
The_Hangman said (Registered August 30, 2006)
June 28, 2007 @ 1:55 pm
I work with the local City, County and State Police departments here in my hometown in Georgia. I do issue parking tickets and appear in Court as the Arresting Officer. I also work with the County Sherrifs Department and spend some time as Poll Manager with the local Election Department.
I wonder if any of this would make me eligible to travel to NY and enter the “CIVIL SERVICE” Qualifer?
Mega Munch said
June 28, 2007 @ 1:58 pm
Some would say 20 spots is already too many, but I’m glad they use a large table format because it gives more eaters a chance to be involved in the sport’s greatest event.
Erik the Red said (Registered January 9, 2006)
June 28, 2007 @ 1:59 pm
Congratulations Arturo! You definitely deserved the shot at it and you had to pull it out to make it. Everyone gets lost in the menutia of how someone gets in to a contest but at the end of the day if you are the best eater(s) and you prove it, you deserve a shot.
Congrats to Shredder as well for 3 hard fought battles and being the most accomplished wild card ever.
Tim Brown – You also deserved a slot and justice was served to you this morning. Congrats to you as well.
It is hard to blame the IFOCE for allowing the best eaters to compete sometimes when they open up almost all of their competitions to the general public. What other professional organization allows everyday Joe to compete against the best in the world just for signing up online? It is sometimes too fair.
Allen the Shredder said
June 28, 2007 @ 7:26 pm
With the bar raised so high this year, I believe every one who made it to the final table deserves to be there because they put their heart, blood and sweat into each qualifier. Whether you can eat 21 or 59.5, lets have a great time next week and show the world how proud we are to represent this sport.
Anonymous said
June 29, 2007 @ 3:24 am
Please, lovelylady,
The Anonymous person is pisst off because some rules were distorted and eaters who deserve to go to Coney have to make some noise in order to get in, I am sure Tim Brown didn’t sit at home and said ok, the civil service contest was a fair call….yeah right, i am sure he had something to say, he didn’t just get handed a wild card spot for the IFOCE’s kindness. BS again.
On another note, why don’t they just let the top 8 eaters automatically qualify and let other guys get a shot at Coney, why have to top eaters qualify when the expected result is them qualifying. FOr the Brats Championship, they had like the top 5 or something automatically qualify, the same should be done with Nathans, and even on another note, the same should be done for Kyrstals, we know the top 8 will make Kyrstals, all they have to do is attend a qualifer, and the isjob done, if not…an automatic wildcard if they go up against an eater above them. Its lame that mid and lower ranked eaters who travel to these contests like Nathans and Krystals get screwed if they go up against a top 8 eater, its almost pointless and heartbreaking because it is a waist of time if you are not chasing a wild card. And thats the bottom line.
NO $$$ and no qualification. The eater doesn’t get any props nor does anyone care.
DIRTY TRUTH
Anonymous said
June 29, 2007 @ 3:24 am
Please, lovelylady,
The Anonymous person is pisst off because some rules were distorted and eaters who deserve to go to Coney have to make some noise in order to get in, I am sure Tim Brown didn’t sit at home and said ok, the civil service contest was a fair call….yeah right, i am sure he had something to say, he didn’t just get handed a wild card spot for the IFOCE’s kindness. BS again.
On another note, why don’t they just let the top 8 eaters automatically qualify and let other guys get a shot at Coney, why have to top eaters qualify when the expected result is them qualifying. FOr the Brats Championship, they had like the top 5 or something automatically qualify, the same should be done with Nathans, and even on another note, the same should be done for Kyrstals, we know the top 8 will make Kyrstals, all they have to do is attend a qualifer, and the isjob done, if not…an automatic wildcard if they go up against an eater above them. Its lame that mid and lower ranked eaters who travel to these contests like Nathans and Krystals get screwed if they go up against a top 8 eater, its almost pointless and heartbreaking because it is a waist of time if you are not chasing a wild card. And thats the bottom line.
NO $$$ and no qualification. The eater doesn’t get any props nor does anyone care.
DIRTY TRUTH
Lovelylady said
June 30, 2007 @ 3:01 pm
Dear Anonymous,
Yes it’s obvious your pisst off, but the IFOCE is in charge and because they are, they gave Tim the wildcard, which of course was well-deserved.
I strongly believe that everyone should compete to get into a competition, that is the only fair way for contestants to get in. Yes it does mean that those that aren’t in the top 10 have to work harder, but then again isn’t everyone else training just as hard? It is unfortunate that many don’t get in, but it’s precisely because they need to work harder. I’m sure that those that are in the top 10 now, weren’t in the tio 10 a year ago. I’m sure it was with training and dedication that they got there.
Good luck to all the contestants on July 4th!!!!!