(From Rhonda Evans) Joey Chestnut was interviewed by Ben & Matt on KNIX Country of Phoenix on February 13 to talk about the upcoming MLE video game. Joey is unable to provide any details about that project except for the fact that the IFOCE contract signs away video game rights. He does not disclose how much he was paid, if any, for the use of his electronic likeness but does say that he is looking for a good competitive eating agent.

Joey also says that he expects to break Badlands Booker’s matzo ball record in Houston and calls Kobayashi a “little liar” for claiming he had an injury in the 2007 Nathan’s finals.

Streaming audio of interview, Direct link to MP3 file of interview (9 MB, 9 minutes)

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Tomoko Miyake is endorsing three meals sold by SaveOn, a convenience store chain. Convenience stores are called “konbini” in Japan.

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(Via “Pleasure and Payne”) Derek “Wing Tut” Payne designed some anti New England Patriot T shirts. The New York Post mentioned that line of clothing:

Derek Payne, 28, of Pittsburgh, designed a line of “18-1” shirts that are being sold on zazzle.com.

On his shirts, the numeral 1 is replaced with a graphic of a hand flipping the bird.

“I’m a Steeler fan, so I’ll give the Pats the middle finger as much as anybody,” he said. “I was definitely cheering for the New York Giants as they knocked the Pats off their perch last night.”

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The New York Daily News has an article about redevelopment plans for Coney Island:

Buried deep in the plans is a provision that says of the 50 blocks being rezoned in Coney Island, only the block that contains Nathan’s – at the corner of Surf and Stillwell Aves. – and one block immediately west would be rezoned for towers.

That means the two-story building, which has drawn millions of hot dog lovers since 1916, could expand to 14 stories – or more – when detailed plans are approved next year.

“Nathan’s would be given more opportunities for development on its property, which could lead to any one of a number of scenarios, including the expansion of Nathan’s or its redevelopment as a new building,” City Planning spokeswoman Rachaele Raynoff confirmed.

Curbed suggests that Nathan’s redevelopment plans include a competitive eating venue.

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Fox Business has an article about the economics of competitive eating with quotes from George Shea, Arnie “Chowhound” Chapman and Crazy Legs Conti.

The article reports that the IFOCE has five full time employees. Shea claims that the 2007 Nathan’s hot dog contest produced $100 million worth of media for the restaurant chain. Joey received %0.01 corrected percent of that amount ($10,000) as his first place prize, which might be why has yet to commit to the defense of his title.

The article lists Chapman as the winner of the 1991 Nathan’s contest:

Chapman, a 46-year-old better known in the eating world as “Chowhound,” holds the record for downing the most pickles. He ate 2.94 pounds of sweet hard sour pickles in 3 minutes and 45 seconds.

“Sometimes I don’t know what I am thinking, it’s such an unforgiving food, ” Chapman said. Chapman won the Nathan’s contest in 1991 by eating 11.5 dogs in six minutes, which today seems like a meager amount.

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In his most recent blog entry, Kobayashi announces that he is starting a business with his business partner, Bobby. They are seeking 100 million yen ($942,000) in startup financing. The nature of the business was not disclosed.

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Usually when competitive eating is brought up in association with bass fishing, it is about the possibility of the Sheas selling the IFOCE for a significant amount as the pro-fishing circuit B.A.S.S. was sold to ESPN for $35 million dollars. Another connection between the two sports will take place when boostedcpe/Butterbean attempts to qualify for the Wing Bowl Tuesday by eating 3 pounds of fried bass in 5 minutes. He announces his stunt in a thread on a bass fishing message board.

This makes the known upcoming stunts for this week:

Jan 14 Brad Sciullo 72 Chips Ahoy cookies & 1 gallon of milk in 2:30 (If allowed to compete due to age)
Jan 15 “Butterbean” 3 pounds fried bass in 5 minutes.
Jan 15 Adam “Hungry Hungry Hebrew” Taxin, hamburger eating contest vs. dog
Jan 18 Pat Bertoletti, 6 lbs of sour cream in 8 minutes

update BeautifulBrian.com has a page on today’s stunts which reports that “Big” Brian Subich qualified, but Brad Sciullo failed to complete his stunt.

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In a comment on megamunch, “Will” Bill Myers says he picked up a copy of the Wing Bowl 16 rules when he competed in today’s qualifier. Rule #2 follows:

Wing Bowl 16 is an IFOCE/MLE officially sanctioned and sponsored event, any member of, or person affiliated with, non-IFOCE/MLE professional eating organizations, including but not limited to AICE, are also not eligible to participate in the contest.

The FCC’s web site has a page about regulations about radio station contest rules which states that eligibility restrictions must be publicized in some manner from the time a contest is announced:

“Material terms” include those factors which define the operation of the contest and which affect participation therein. Although the material terms may vary widely depending mentioned in a cupon the exact nature of the contest, they will generally include: (1) how to enter or participate; (2) eligibility restrictions; (3) entry deadline dates; (4) whether prizes can be won; (5) when prizes can be won; (6) the extent, nature, and value of the prizes; (7) the basis for valuation of prizes; (8) time and means of selection of winners; and/or (9) tie-breaking procedures.

In general, the time and manner of disclosure of the material terms of a contest are within the licensee’s discretion. However, the obligation to disclose the material terms arises at the time that the audience is first told how to enter or participate and continues thereafter. The material terms should be disclosed periodically by announcements broadcast on the station conducting the contest, but need not be enumerated each time an announcement promoting the contest is broadcast. Disclosure of material terms in a reasonable number of announcements is sufficient. In addition to the required broadcast announcements, disclosure of the material terms may be made in a non-broadcast manner.

Wing Bowl rules do not appear on 610WIP’s web site. The Wing Bowl 16 page has “Official Rules for Wing Bowl 16” at the bottom, but there is no link or following information. I do not know how frequently WIP has announced Wing Bowl 16 eligibility restrictions on the air. We might get a chance to learn if the FCC views those restrictions as satisfactorily disclosed if an AICE eater files a new FCC complaint.

update GJoe’s FCC complaint mentioned in a previous comment is based on being excluded from a previous Wing Bowl, not the upcoming one.

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In a recent blog entry, Don “Moses” Lerman announces the following plans:

I “m tyring to put together a few contests one which will be the prestigious Lerman cup at the Don Lerman invitational cup a date to be announced and location to be reveled at a later time . so stand by .

The new poll asks what businessperson would make the best founder of a new competitive eating organization.

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The chili cheese fries eating contest held at the Queen Mary in Long Beach, CA was the most lucrative IFOCE event on the west coast in 2006 and 2007. The good news for the future of that contest is the recent emergence of the contest site from bankruptcy after selling to a group of investors called “Save Our Queen.” The bad news is the new owners might have different priorities for the marketing budget.

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A meatball eating contest was held at the Tropicana casino in Atlantic City the previous three Decembers. An article in nj.com reports on some of the issues facing that establishment which might have resulted in the contest not being renewed in 2007:

In a rare move, the state’s top casino prosecutor yesterday asked the Casino Control Commission to renew Tropicana’s license for one year — instead of the typical five — and impose seven-pages of restrictions to a gambling parlor that has grabbed headlines for its massive layoffs and patron complaints of vermin, unsanitary conditions and lousy service.

The casino was sold to a new owner, William Yung, early this year and has experienced a 10% drop in revenue.

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FritoLay.co.jp reports that snack foods endorsed by Nobuyuki Shirota and Tomoko Miyake were released today. Shirota and Miyake also designed and endorsed snacks for Frito Lay last year.

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(From competitiveeatingnews) Cleveland.com reports that a fire on November 8 destroyed a building owned by Chris Abatsas which housed his adult entertainment club, Monroe’s Cabaret, and a dry cleaners. No injuries were reported but a witness believed someone was trapped in the fire. Two other fires have destroyed buildings in Cleveland this month, one started several hours after Abatsas’ building burned and one the week before. Abatsas did not have insurance. The cause of the conflagration is unknown, but police will investigate it as if it was arson.

A 1999 article in the Cleveland Scene reports efforts by the police to shut down Monroe’s Cabaret due to alleged drug transactions and safety inspection violations.

Fox TV article & video

WKYC video

fire gallery

Cleveland.com blog entry

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According to the Wall Street Journal, Nelson Peltz, responsible for Heinz’s co-sponsorship of the Nathan’s hot dog eating contest finals, is a champion of consumption himself with regards to his Palm Beach estate’s water usage:

Consider Nelson Peltz. The investor and food magnate’s oceanfront estate, called Montsorrel, is among the island’s biggest water consumers. His 13.8-acre spread, which combines two properties, used not quite 21 million gallons of water over the past 12 months — or about 57,000 gallons a day on average — at a cost of more than $50,000, according to records obtained from the local water utility. That compares with 54,000 gallons a year for an average single-family residence in Palm Beach, says Ken Rearden, assistant city administrator of West Palm Beach. (West Palm Beach supplies Palm Beach’s water.)

The estate uses 21M / (365 * 24 * 60 * 60) = .67 gallons of water per second, so it consumes 27.3 gallons of water in the 41 seconds it takes for Joey Chestnut to drink a gallon of milk.

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The logos on the home page of IFOCE.com have been changed and the IFOCE store graphic announces that the Major League Eating DVD can be purchased. The DVD page has a review from Robert Gilman which begins:

“Blending the historic integrity of Ken Burns with the stylistic perfection of Scorsese, Major League Eaters delights at every turn. Cookie Jarvis loves two things–celebrity and free food. Sadly he is losing both. Rich and Carlene LeFevre are a dynamic couple with epicurean leanings, but has another eater been leaning a bit too close to Carlene?

The logos for Heinz, Pizza Hut and Netflix have been dropped (cached home page)

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The Wall Street Journal Online has a long profile of “activist” investor Nelson Peltz, who is responsible for Heinz’s co-sponsorship of the Nathan’s finals:

Mr. Peltz also believed that Heinz was paying supermarkets too much to promote its products and provide good shelf placement. He said Heinz should seek visibility in other ways, like sponsoring the hot-dog eating contest held each Independence Day at New York’s Coney Island. The activist shareholder also took issue with the 11 billion single-serve ketchup packets Heinz sold each year to fast-food chains, schools and sports venues, calling them messy. His suggestion: Sell ketchup in dip cups like those used for barbeque sauce.

…

Sales and profits at Heinz are up. This past July’s hot-dog eating contest in Coney Island was festooned with inflatable Heinz ketchup bottles. As for messy ketchup packaging, Heinz says that apparently unbeknownst to Mr. Peltz, it had already been selling tens of millions of dip cups annually. “He said, ‘Why don’t we have dip cups?’ the senior Heinz employee recalls. “We do have dip cups.” The company is currently developing larger dip cups, it says.

Heinz stock is up 10.5% since Peltz became involved with the company. Peltz has been recently been accumulating shares of Kraft Foods. Perhaps he can get a Kraft brand to sponsor another eating contest.

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Takeru Kobayashi has a page on AllAmericanSpeakers.com. The page does not appear to have been updated since 2004 and does not list his fee.

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(From Ryan Nerz) The website for “The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch” has a slideshow of the 5 highest grossing eaters in 2007 which it claims are:

1. Takeru Kobayashi – $100,000+ ($5000 according to eatfeats database)
2. Joey “Jaws” Chestnut – $70,000 ($53,000 according to eatfeats database)
3. Pat “Deep Dish” Bertoletti – $39,500 ($37,500 according to eatfeats database)
4. Tim “Eater X” Janus $18,150 ($16,150 according to eatfeats database)
5. Sonya Thomas $13,600 ($13,600 according to eatfeats database)

The database does not include the “Wedges & Wings” prizes.

Stephanie Florio won $25,000 in a wedding cake eating contest.

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In a recent comment Carey Poehlmann mentioned the lawsuit of seven poker professionals against the World Poker Tour as being analogous to a possible case against the IFOCE. The World Poker Tour’s wikipedia page describes the suit:

On July 19, 2006, seven poker professionals sued WPTE, alleging violations of the Sherman Antitrust Act, the California Cartwright Act, and intentional interference with contract (Complaint and Response). The professionals (Chris Ferguson, Andy Bloch, Annie Duke, Joe Hachem, Phil Gordon, Howard Lederer, and Greg Raymer) allege that WPTE’s standard release forms, required for participation in WPTE events, are anti-competitive and designed to interfere with their contractual obligations to other companies. The anti-competition claim is based on the fact that WPTE’s contracts with the casinos that host its tournaments bar those casinos (and other casinos owned by the same parent companies) from hosting non-WPTE poker events. The claim of interference with contract is based on the releases’ claim to perpetual rights to the players’ likenesses for any use WPTE wishes. The players claim that this would put them in violation of other contracts (such as Ferguson’s Activision Games contract or several players’ contracts with online poker sites).

The suing poker players have set up a web site at http://wptlawsuit.com/ The last action in the case was a request for summary judgement made in March.

Unlike the IFOCE, the World Poker Tour does not limit its members solely to its own events; they are allowed to do non-WPT tournaments such as the World Series of Poker.

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The new poll asks what you think the result would be if the IFOCE contract was challenged in court.

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An old Alka Seltzer commercial in which a veteran competitive eater provides advice to a novice can be viewed at http://youtube.com/watch?v=zsvzr4ahT6M

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The new poll asks how you think the restrictions in the IFOCE contract will change over time.

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This post is for the breakdown of the IFOCE contract by “Who Is OJ Rifkin?” which begins:

Let’s talk about the “lovely little contract” that these guys make you sign. I will be dedicating my next few postings to this issue. Of course those eaters who have sworn undying allegiance to MLE will dismiss or disregard this issue. For those of you who might care about things like ownership of your name and fair compensation may wish to read and comment on this issue. Perhaps the best way to proceed is to break it up in a few pieces and analyze what it really means. You may not like the author of this posting but realize this: I did not create this contract the Shea brothers did:

Here we go part 1 of the contract:

IFOCE
Membership Agreement

This agreement (The “Agreement”) is made and entered into this __________day of__________,
2004, by and between International Federation of Competitive Eating, Inc., with its principle offices
At 151 W. 25 street, 4th floor, New York NY 10001 (“IFOCE”), and ______________ an, individual residing at _________________(“Performer”) upon the following Terms and conditions.

1. The term of this agreement shall commence as of the date hereof and shall continue for a period of eighteen (18) months thereafter.

OK, so far so good…next part:

2. (a) Performer shall have official status of an “IFOCE Eater” during the term with eligibility to participate in IFOCE events. Performer recognizes the benefits of the eligibility and status of an IFOCE eater and in consideration of such benefits, performer agrees to participate solely and exclusively in organized competitive eating events, exhibitions and appearances of any kind in the media related to eating (collectively “Eating Events”) Which are sanctioned and approved by the IFOCE. Performer shall notify IFOCE in advance of competing or appearing in any eating events not sanctioned by the IFOCE and must obtain IFOCE’s prior in order to participate or appear. This approval maybe withheld in IFOCE’s sole judgement based on safety of such Eating Events, competition with other organizations or other conflict with the reasonable objectives of IFOCE.

LET’S TALK ABOUT THE SECTION ABOVE: WHAT DOES THIS MEAN AND IS THIS AN ETHICAL CONTRACT? If so why or why not?

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The Sheboygan Press has an article about the amateur bratwurst contest to be held at the Brat Days festival this weekend which includes the following quotes on the cancellation of the IFOCE contest:

Officials at Johnsonville Sausage, which sponsors the brat-eating contest and the festival itself, declined to comment Tuesday.

Johnsonville dropped the event as part of a public relations “strategy shift,” Johnsonville Marketing Manager Cory Bouck said early in July. The contest “wasn’t the exact message we want to get out,” he said.

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(From sonyatheblackwidow.com) The website for the supermarket chain Harris Teeter has a press release about Sonya Thomas’ commerical for house brand paper plates. The other three commercials in the advertising campaign star former wrestler Hulk Hogan, speed drummer Mike Mangini and radio Host Art Bell. Harris Teeter is based on the east coast with most locations between Maryland and Georgia. Some of the ads have the products used in unconventional manners:

Bell promotes aluminum foil for Harris Teeter by shaping it into a hat with an antenna. Why, you may ask? It’s Art Bell, he needed to see if the yourhome aluminum foil protected his brain from paranormal frequencies.

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